Accountability and effectiveness of the use of state funds: ECOSAI Governing Board Meeting was held in Astana
The 28th ECOSAI Governing Board Meeting, a regional structure uniting supreme audit institutions of the Economic Cooperation Organization member states (ECO), was held in Astana.
The event was attended by representatives of the supreme audit institutions of Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Türkiye. Delegation of Kazakhstan was headed by the Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber Alikhan Smailov.
The participants reviewed the reporting information on the work of the General Secretariat and Training Committee of ECOSAI, joint projects, signed memoranda and conducted trainings. In addition, the issue of creating a working group on IT audit was discussed.
Alikhan Smailov in his speech stressed that the supreme audit institutions have an important task to ensure transparency and efficiency of the use of public funds and resources.
In this regard, cooperation within the framework of ECOSAI is of great importance, as it helps auditors to analyze current trends, develop their skills, improve the methodology of state audit, as well as share experiences and best practices.
"I am confident that the joint efforts of ECOSAI members will contribute to improving the quality of auditing activities in our countries," said the Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
According to him, there is currently a progressive improvement of public audit systems throughout the region. In particular, the status and authority of the Supreme Audit Chamber have been increased in Kazakhstan.
Last year, the SAC of RK received the right to audit the use of local budget funds and review the audit results of all other state audit bodies.
Alikhan Smailov marked that, "This transformation is part of the large-scale socio-political and economic transformations carried out in the republic on the initiative of the Head of State Kassym–Jomart Tokayev".
During the meeting of the ECOSAI Governing Board, the participants exchanged views on issues such as ensuring accountability and effectiveness of the use of public funds, strengthening interdepartmental cooperation, further improving the professional level of state auditors, etc.
The reports of the Secretary General on the main activities of ECOSAI were approved after the meeting.
Representatives of the delegations of the ECOSAI member states will also visit the V World Nomad Games as part of a working trip to Astana, which are taking place in the capital these days, and visit the Presidential Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
For reference: for the present, the Economic Cooperation Organization includes Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan. ECOSAI, which unites the supreme audit institutions of the ECO countries, was established in 1994. The Supreme Audit Chamber of Kazakhstan has been elected to the Governing Board of ECOSAI for 2023-2025.