Supreme Audit Institutions

A supreme audit institution (SAI) provides the highest level of external audit of government bodies in a country. In most of the World Bank's borrowing countries, constitutional or legal arrangements provide for an SAI to report independently on the use of public resources. The Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing (PDF, 124 Kb) adopted in Lima, Peru in October 1977 set out the objectives of public sector auditing: 

• the proper and effective use of public funds;
• the development of sound financial management;
• the proper execution of adminstrative activities; and
• the communication of information to public authorities and the general public through publication of objective reports. 

The recognition of the important role of SAIs in the public financial management, and a commitment to strengthening country institutions have led the World Bank to develop a strategy to support and strengthen SAIs (PDF, 554 Kb). This approach includes:

• using high-level country dialogue, innovative interactions with SAIs, and financing to improve their capacity and effectiveness;
   
• promoting and participating in the global, regional and bilateral partnerships through which SAIs work to improve their own environments and capacities; and
   
• providing training and knowledge sharing to help Bank staff carry out this agenda more effectively.

The PFM Reform Database contains various practical examples of reforms regarding the external audit function.

For further information on SAIs, contact Sanjay Vani, Svani@worldbank.org, tel. +1-202-458-4885.