Institutional strengthening of the State Audit Office
The project’s overall objective was to strengthen the State Audit Office (SAO), Georgia’s supreme audit institution, in its independence and professional capacity, contributing towards enhanced accountability regarding the use of public funds. The project team achieved an update and change of existing manuals for compliance and financial audit in line with international standards such as the European Court of Auditors model, or the Mexico Declaration ISSAI 10. The implementation rate of SAO’s recommendations improved from 40% in 2018 to 60% in 2019. This indicated a promising trend to achieve the desired level, i.e. an implementation rate exceeding 80% in European countries. The PFM Department also optimised the quality assurance (QA) manual in line with the audit manuals, and supported QA checklists for financial and compliance audits. The revised QA documents were based on ISQC-1 and ISSAI standards, were approved by SAO senior management, and adopted and implemented by the Audit Quality Assurance Department. During project implementation, the SAO significantly increased the share of performance audits among other types of audit engagements and reached 26% in 2020. Performance audit reports were promptly published on the SAO’s website and attract media attention.
PROJECT IS PART OF
