SAIs improving oversight through I.T. Innovation: #OECDIntegrity Webinar shows experiences from Finland, U.A.E. and Chile

The webinar "I.T. Innovation: Oversight in pandemic times" was organized by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile as Knowledge Partner of the 2021 OECD Global Anti-corruption and Integrity Forum. The session focused on the use of I.T. in the audit process during the COVID-19 crisis and how data-driven SAIs can contribute to the fight against corruption.

Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from Chile, Finland, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) presented their experiences on introducing I.T. within their organizations, discussed the core challenges and risks faced in I.T. implementation, and debated around the main benefits of auditing and fighting against corruption through I.T. innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel -moderated by Valentina Monasterio, Chairwoman of Audit Operations Committee of the UN Board of Auditors-  interacted with 479 participants from numerous countries through Mentimeter.

Mr. Jorge Bermúdez, Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile, opened the dialogue presenting the starting point of the Chilean SAI for introducing I.T. in the audit process. As a result of a long institutional journey to digitalize processes, the organization produced in 2020 automated reports on the efforts of the Chilean Government to face the crisis. "Since our Strategic Plan 2021-2024 we decided to introduce the use of data analytics, comprising I.T. infrastructure, capacity building, and budget" he stated.

Ms. Tytti Yli-Viikari, Auditor General of the National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF), indicated "it is not just about technical skills. We need new competencies, processes, and a sound I.T. infrastructure, but we also need to have a very good view of the audit objectives, on what we try to achieve, and whom we are trying to serve with this audit information, and that takes a lot of networking and dialogue skills from our staff as well".

"The use of data analytics was a real breakthrough for auditors in terms of saving time and assessing risks. In our case, we have been able to limit the execution of audit operations in the field by choosing the most important issue in each entity and focusing on that area" was highlighted by H. E. Dr. Harib Al Amimi, President of the State Audit Institution of the U.A.E.

You can watch the webinar here: