PAS Guideline 1 Selecting Performance Audit Topics – 2013

This paper aims to assist Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in selecting audit topics. As SAIs operate differently, the intention is not to prescribe, but rather to share good practices in an effort to develop uniform processes across SAIs based on INTOSAI standards and guidelines. This document provides an overview of the strategic and annual planning processes for performance auditing. It suggests criteria to be used during the selection of audit topics and assists with the prioritisation of the identified audit topics. The proposed scoring matrix is an analytical tool and should assist the performance auditor in the selection of an audit topic; however, it should not discourage the auditor from using professional judgement to make the final decision on an audit topic.