The interregional seminar on the Role of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in the Audit of Agriculture which was jointly organized by the United Nations and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) was held from 8 to 12 April 2002 in Vienna, Austria. This event was the 15th interregional seminar organized by the Division of Public Economics and Public Administration, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in conjunction with INTOSAI (15th UN/INTOSAI Seminar).
Altogether, some 50 participants attended the event, including SAI staff from developing countries and transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The presenters came from the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Court of Auditors and the SAIs of the United States, Austria and Columbia. A representative from the SAI of the United Kingdom acted as technical chair.
The seminar was opened on 8 April 2002 in a plenary meeting and ended on 12 April 2002 after a total of nine plenary meetings and three working group sessions.
The 15th UN/INTOSAI Seminar addressed the following topics:
Overall, delegates rated the 15th UN/INTOSAI Seminar as a very valuable opportunity and were confident that their intensive and fruitful work would indeed help to improve their audit of agriculture.
The XVIII INCOSAI is being organised in the Budapest Congress Centre, which is located in a wonderful chestnut-tree park. After more than 15 years in operation, the Budapest Congress Centre is the largest congress and convention facility in the country; it has a tradition and experience in hosting congresses and different professional events. It provides full and flexible services and also has an easy access to downtown, to the airport and to the highways.
The great "Pátria" hall of the Congress Centre is suitable for organising congresses with the participation of 500-600 persons. There are 9 other smaller conference rooms in the building with different capacities.
INTOSAI was founded in 1953, in Havana. Thus the celebration of the 50th anniversary will take place at the 51st meeting of the Governing Board, scheduled for October the 15th, 2003 in Budapest. According to tradition, the last meeting of the Governing Board prior to the subsequent Congress convenes in the host country of the Congress, this time in Budapest.
The celebration will have two parts:-
The Congress in 2004 will be held in the Budapest Congress Center. The Congress Center is the largest congress and convention facility in Hungary with 15 years of experience in hosting international events. Organizational details will be laid down in an implementation plan at the beginning of 2004.
For accommodation about 700 rooms have been reserved in five hotels. Three of them are in the center of town (Inter-Continental, Hyatt, Marriott), and two are close to the venue of the Congress (Novotel and Flamenco). The contracts with the hotels specify that reservations for the individual guests will be made through the Congress Secretariat during the registration process.
The 50th Meeting of the Governing Board of INTOSAI was held on 16 and 17 October 2002 in Vienna, Austria at the Vienna International Centre. Important issues discussed during the meeting were the report of IDI, reports of Standing Committees of INTOSAI, and the preparations for the XVIII INCOSAI in 2004 scheduled to be held in Hungary, Budapest.
50th Meeting of the Governing Board of INTOSAI
16-17 October 2002, Vienna, Austria
The Chairman, in his report, informed members about the release of the proceedings of the 17th INTOSAI Congress which was held in Korea in 2001. The proceedings of the Seoul Congress were distributed in the form of a book. The electronic version of the proceedings in PDF format is also available at the homepage i.e. http://www.koreasai.go.kr
The first vice chairman of the INTOSAI Governing Board reported about the preparations for the XVIII INTOSAI Congress.
The 11th meeting of the INTOSAI Standing Committee on IT Audit was held in New Delhi from Nov. 27 to 29, 2002 in New Delhi. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Vijayendra N. Kaul-Comptroller & Auditor General of India in the presence of 49 participants from 22 SAIs. The number of SAIs and their representation was the highest in all 11 meetings held so far. The Chairman began by announcing the change of name of the standing committee from the INTOSAI Standing Committee on EDP Audit to the INTOSAI Standing Committee on IT Audit (ISCITA). This change was suggested in the 9th meeting of the committee. The 50th Meeting of the Governing Board of INTOSAI, held in Vienna in October 2002, had approved the change in name.
Mr.Vijayendra N. Kaul presiding over the 11th ISCITA
Participants of the 11th ISCITA
Important agenda items discussed
Important decisions taken during the meeting were in respect of Into IT, IT Audit Courseware, INTOSAI EDP Directory & Compilation of SAI Mandates, Reference list of Material on Performance Auditing, Advanced Training Modules, IT Infrastructure Management, Committee Website and CAATs for non-financial Audits.
It was also decided that the 12th meeting of ISCITA will be held at Oslo, Norway from September 10-12, 2003. The 13th, 14th and 15th meetings will be held at Russia, Bhutan and Brazil in 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Social Programme
The delegates were taken a day long excursion to historic city of Jaipur which is also the Capital of Rajasthan province of India. Participants were taken to Amer Fort and the City Palace. The elephant ride to reach the Amer Fort on a hillock was a unique experience for the participants.
Elephant ride for Amer Fort
The 4th meeting of the INTOSAI Working Group on the Audit of International Institutions was held in Tokyo, Japan from April 23-25, 2003. Nineteen representatives from 9 SAIs attended the meeting.
SAI-Denmark presented a paper on Principles for best Audit Arrangements. In addition to other papers presented, there were also discussions on carrying out a Survey of International Institutions and review of the work plan till October 2004. The next meeting of the working group will be held in the 2nd week of January 2004 in Tuvalu. SAI-Tuvalu will announce the exact dates later.
Fourth Meeting of the INTOSAI Working Group on the
Audit of International Institutions 23-25 April 2003 Tokyo, Japan