We’ve wasted no time to start the new year off with several exciting events and interventions, the first of which was hosting members of AFROSAI for an Institutional Strengthening meeting in January. This was followed by a meeting with the Good Financial Governance network partners, namely ATAF, AFROPAC, AFROSAI and CABRI to further agree on the way forward on the Declaration on Illicit Financial Flows. In addition, meetings were held with the INTOSAI IDI and Donor Secretariat to discuss areas of collaboration to support SAIs in the region. Click here to read more on this meeting. Click read more below to learn more about the other events. 

IDI, AFROSAI-E and CREFIAF have established a partnership to contribute to the greater performance of the most challenged SAIs.This partnership has been established to follow the new Tier 2 initiative of the Global Call for Proposals (GCP). The SAIs included in the initiative are The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Guinea, Togo and Niger (French-speaking, CREFIAF members), Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and Gambia (English speaking, AFROSAI-E members). How many of these SAIs to be supported by the Tier 2 Partners is expected to be clarified in mid-2018.

The chief executive officers of AFROSAI-E, PAFA and ESAAG recently met to discuss the professionalisation initiative currently being led by AFROSAI-E and PAFA. The initiative aims to professionalise public sector accounting and auditing in Africa. An invitation was extended to ESAAG members to participate in the work as partners with AFROSAI-E and PAFA. This would include nominating ESAAG members to serve on the Interim Oversight Board (IOB) on the Professionalisation of Public Sector Accounting and Auditing in Africa. This is in line with the terms of reference of the IOB which envisages ESAAG as being founding members of the IOB.

Regional Working Groups supporting each other to grow capacity and thereby being better enabled to support their member SAIs, is a great example of living the INTOSAI motte of “mutual experience benefits all”. In this spirit, AFROSAI-E and ARABOSAI has signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on issues related to promoting good governance, particularly the strengthening of accountability, transparency, and integrity.

The AFROSAI-E Executive Secretariat had the opportunity to share their work in regional professionalisation at the recent INTOSAI Capacity Building Committee (CBC) meeting held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC during September 2017. The presentation provided context to the work being performed by AFROSAI-E in partnership with the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) and the East and Southern African Association of Accountants General (ESAAG). This collaborative initiative aims to support professionalisation efforts across the African continent in both auditing and accounting in the public sector.