19 April 2013, Geneva, Switzerland- UNITAR and the INTOSAI (The International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions) Development Initiative (IDI) signed an agreement to deliver e-Learning activities promoting the implementation of International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) in Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) across developing countries.
This initiative is part of the certification programme organized by IDI’s ISSAI Implementation Initiative (3i) Programme which aims to create capacity for implementation of ISSAI by developing a pool of at least 180 facilitators for all three audit streams (financial, performance, and compliance audit) in the five English-speaking regional audit organizations namely AFROSAI-E (African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions in English-speaking Africa), ASOSAI (Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions), CAROSAI (Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions), EUROSAI (European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions), and PASAI (Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions).
The course themes are “Implementing Performance Audit ISSAIs” and “Implementing Financial Audit ISSAIs” and will run from 29 July to 13 September, 2013. The third course on “Implementing Compliance Audit ISSAIs” is planned for early 2014.
Launched in 2012 by IDI and funded by the World Bank, the 3i Programme’s (ISSAI Implementation Initiative Programme) objective is to prioritize the implementation of the ISSAI framework which was adopted in 2010 by the INTOSAI congress.This programme highlights the importance of strengthening and unifying the global public sector audit profession which in turn will improve audit quality; facilitate benchmarking of current practices against international recognised best practices and ensure increased credibility of SAI audit reports.
The agreement between UNITAR and IDI represents a milestone in its long successful partnership as it continues to emphasize the importance of the use of new information and communication technologies for training outreach and networking. By leveraging UNITAR’s existing virtual learning environment (e-Learning portal), IDI has identified the opportunity to conduct interactive assessment, knowledge sharing for the SAI audit teams and the development and deployment of the online courses for the ISSAI Certification Programme.
UNITAR's tested and cost effective e-Learning methodology will be incorporated in the design and implementation of the new courses. In addition, each participant will be assigned to a specific international mentor to ensure that the audit assessment tools and pedagogical elements are used to its full potential. The courses will also explore implementation challenges and ways forward.
In 2012, three separate e-courses on ISSAI Compliance Assessment Tool (iCAT) were successfully conducted simultaneously for the three audit streams as part of the ISSAI Certification Programme. These e-courses were delivered over a period of 6 weeks (22 October- 7 December, 2012) using the platform provided by UNITAR.
IDI and UNITAR already have several years of successful partnership in delivering results-based, demand-driven capacity development activities through online and blended online/face-to-face courses. Over the past four years, the partnership has trained more than 635 audit professionals from over 65 countries.