In preparation for the XXIII INTOSAI Congress, which will be held in September 2019 in Moscow, the first kickoff meeting of the Expert Group formed to study Theme II of the Congress "The Role of the Supreme Audit Institutions in the Achievement of the National Priorities and Goals"* took place in the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

The meeting was attended through video conference by representatives of the Supreme Audit Institutions and audit organizations from 16 countries. **

The participants identified six key areas for discussion under the main theme (1. Advisory activity; 2. Strategic audit; 3. Information and analysis in the activities of the Supreme Audit Institutions; 4. Risk management; 5. Information transparency; 6. New communication strategy), and also agreed the work schedule for the preparation of the Basic Document on Theme II. It is expected that the Basic Document will be posted on the Congress website in May 2019. According to the schedule, the draft Basic Document will be prepared by the end of March 2018, and then sent to the group participants for consideration and making comments and suggestions. It is planned to engage external experts to work on the preparation of the Document, including representatives of international organizations (UN, OECD, etc.). Next meeting of the group is scheduled for late May 2018.

* The meeting of the INTOSAI Governing Board, that took place in Gratz, Austria, in November, 2017 adopted the following main themes for the Congress:

- Theme I “Information Technologies for the Development of the Public Administration" (under the chairmanship of the SAI of China);

- Theme II: "The Role of the Supreme Audit Institutions in the Achievement of the National Priorities and Goals" (under the chairmanship of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation).

** Austria, Armenia, Belarus, Brazil, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, USA, South Africa.