On November SAI Russia held a webinar for the Supreme Audit Institutions of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries, its observers and partners on the topic "The Role of Digital Platforms in the Professional Development of Auditors".

 The webinar brought together 127 representatives from 13 countries – Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia and Tajikistan.

The key speakers of the event were Mr. Stanislav Prokofiev, Rector of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Ms. Marina Izhboldina, Executive Director of the Education Industry Centre of Sber, Ms. Svetlana Guseva, Chairwoman of the Accounts Chamber of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Mr. Aleksei Loshkin, Chairman of the Chamber of Control and Accounts of Chelyabinsk Region, and Mr. Timur Makhmutov, Director of the Department for International and Regional Cooperation of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation. Mr. Dmitry Zaitsev, Board Member of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, opened the event.

The topic of continuous improvement of knowledge and skills is so extensive and multifaceted that to ensure the quality and spot training of their staff, SAIs and RAIs consider the possibility of attracting partners among the academic and business communities. By exchanging experience and best practices, we will be able to provide a "nourishing environment" for the education of auditors of the future,

– said Dmitry Zaitsev during his welcoming speech.

Timur Makhmutov spoke about the existing educational online platforms of SAI Russia designed for employees of federal and regional levels:

The Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation has several educational platforms: Web-Tutor – an internal closed portal for employees of the Accounts Chamber, RAI educational portal – for employees of control and accounting chambers of the subjects of the Russian Federation, international educational platform – the flagship project of the Chairmanship of the Accounts Chamber in INTOSAI – Digital University for the INTOSAI Community.

The cooperation between SAI Russia and universities was outlined. In particular, in February 2023 in the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation a basic chair of the Accounts Chamber  was opened.

Rector of the Financial University Stanislav Prokofiev spoke about the experience of organizing and conducting online training at the university. In addition to classically recorded courses, the Financial University is implementing the concept of using simulators in the educational process.

The effectiveness of educational and methodological work is provided by the introduction of new forms and methods of teaching, which includes using educational simulators. Simulators make it possible to organize interactive classes on solving professional cases for different types of enterprises and organizations, to implement an interdisciplinary approach in training,

 – the expert concluded.

In the framework of cooperation with SAI Russia, the Financial University is actively involved in the development of the Digital University for the INTOSAI community. 17 online courses authored by the Financial University on such topics as IT, Management Strategy and Technology, Project Management, Communications and International Relations were placed on the platform in 2023.

Marina Izhboldina, Executive Director of Education Industry Centre of Sber, presented the human-centred learning project developed by Sber in order to build the potential of its employees, which includes such educational products as the free programming training centre "School 21", the online university for creative professions "MUSE", and the SberUniversity competence development educational centre.

Svetlana Guseva, Chairwoman of the Accounts Chamber of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, presented the system of HR development, and also spoke about the effectiveness of the program implementation for the direct activities of the agency.

Aleksei Loshkin, Chairman of the Chamber of Control and Accounts of Chelyabinsk Region, presented the project of the competence model in the civil service. The presentation highlighted the problems of the model implementation, as well as the ways to solve them. The RAI competence model can be studied in more detail at the online course prepared for the U-INTOSAI users.

Following the webinar, the Accounts Chamber made a proposal to conduct a study on the national experience of implementing digital tools to build the competences of SAI SCO staff and using the benefits of online education to improve the qualifications of auditors of the future. The proposal was supported by the meeting participants.