Representatives from 22 countries around the world took part in the conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Official events marking the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan (SAC) have officially commenced in Astana, bringing together distinguished guests and foreign delegations.
The anniversary programme opened with the International Scientific and Practical Conference “State Audit of the Future: Innovations, Digital Transformation, and Sustainable Development” held in the capital on Wednesday, 16 September.
Today, artificial intelligence and the digital economy are rapidly transforming the very architecture of public administration worldwide. Against this backdrop, the role of supreme audit institutions is also evolving, requiring them to take on a new place in the modern governance landscape. In practice, this means moving beyond the traditional verification of public financial management towards becoming strategic centers for managing risks and enhancing the quality of public decision-making.
In light of these developments, participants at the conference in Astana focused on such pressing issues as the integration of AI into the public sector, the use of digital analytics and big data in public audit, and ensuring security and accountability in the application of AI technologies.
The separate section of the conference also addressed practical approaches to auditing sustainable development, adapting audit methodologies to global economic and geopolitical changes, and new requirements for the resilience and effectiveness of public institutions.
The event brought together heads and representatives of supreme audit institutions from 22 countries. Representatives of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, UNDP, INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, regional audit commissions, the Internal State Audit Committee, as well as academics and experts, also attended the conference.
The conference featured welcoming remarks by Shri K. Sanjay Murthy, Comptroller and Auditor General of India and Chair of ASOSAI; Hou Kai, Auditor General of the National Audit Office of China and Secretary General of ASOSAI; Manal Mohamed Khairy, Vice President of the Accountability State Authority of Egypt and representative of the INTOSAI Chair; Herbert Baumgartner, Deputy Director of the Austrian Court of Audit and representative of the INTOSAI General Secretariat; Hugo Chudyson Araujo Freire, Head of Department at Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil and representative of OLACEFS; and Galina Izotova, Deputy Chair of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and representative of the General Secretariat of the Council of Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions of the CIS countries.
In his address, Alikhan Smailov, Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan, spoke about the origins and development of state audit in Kazakhstan and presented his strategic vision of emerging trends and the future development of state audit both in Kazakhstan and globally.
He highlighted the importance of the Supreme Audit Chamber’s 30-year institutional development, which has taken place in accordance with the international standards of INTOSAI.
A major milestone was the substantial expansion of the Chamber’s powers in 2022 as part of the broader modernization processes initiated by the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev aimed at increasing the efficiency and transparency of public institutions.
Today, the Supreme Audit Chamber not only effectively carries out its core functions, but also contributes to the President’s objective of transforming Kazakhstan into a fully digital country.
“The Supreme Audit Chamber is actively introducing digital tools and technologies. Our information system now covers all stages of the audit cycle. It is integrated with 20 information systems of government bodies and quasi-public sector organizations, enabling the monitoring of more than 18,000 public audit entities – essentially all recipients of budget funds” Alikhan Smailov said.
He added that the State Audit Entity Cabinet and the Unified Data Repository are already operational, enabling the development of a dynamic profile for each audit entity.
In addition, the SAC’s digital system includes an analytical component that monitors public procurement, tax revenues and budget execution, while also supporting the risk-based selection of audit entities.
According to Alikhan Smailov, modern audit is becoming a comprehensive instrument for strategic analysis and the identification of systemic risks, while contributing to the achievement of long-term sustainable development goals. These principles are also reflected in the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration of the XXV INCOSAI.
In this context, the overarching task of the global audit community is to define the contours of the state audit of the future – one that harnesses the capabilities of AI while preserving independence, professional judgment, ethics and public trust.
According to the Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber, AI provides auditors with fundamentally new opportunities, ranging from analyzing vast amounts of information and automating routine operations to identifying potential risks and making forecasts.
At the same time, digitalization creates new challenges, including ensuring the reliability and quality of data used by AI algorithms, protecting personal information, determining the allocation of responsibility between humans and algorithms for decisions made, and providing state auditors with high-quality training in new technologies.
Against this backdrop, the Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber outlined several priority areas for supreme audit institutions in the coming years:
Develop approaches to auditing AI systems. Assessing not only their technical performance, but also their ethics, algorithmic transparency, data quality, model reliability and the mandatory availability of human oversight mechanisms.
Strengthen risk-based auditing. To take into account the full range of digital threats, including cyber risks, technological dependencies and the cumulative impact of algorithmic errors resulting from large-scale AI deployment.
Strengthen auditors’ professional competencies. Developing expertise in Data Science and AI while preserving the central role of independent professional judgment.
Enhance international cooperation. Developing common principles, methodologies and standards for auditing digital government systems and facilitating the exchange of best practices.
Assess AI’s contribution to sustainable development and public value. To examine whether digital transformation contributes to the equitable distribution of benefits, environmental protection and greater public trust in government.
“The Supreme Audit Chamber views AI not as a separate automation project, but rather as a transformation of the very model of state audit. In this work, we adhere to three principles: the final audit judgment must remain with the auditor; any conclusion prepared with the use of AI must be reproducible and supported by audit evidence; and state audit data must be processed within a secure environment” Alikhan Smailov said.
Concluding his remarks, the Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber noted that technologies, economies and approaches to public administration have changed considerably over the past decades. However, the fundamental mission of supreme audit institutions remains unchanged – to serve society.
The next major event on the official programme was the 63rd Governing Board Meeting of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), which was held in Kazakhstan for the first time on 17 September.