On February 20, 2024, the kick-off meeting of the Special Committee on establishing ASOSAI Working Group on Regional and Municipal Audit was held via videoconference under the leadership of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

The meeting was moderated by Timur Makhmutov, Director of the Department for International and Regional Cooperation.

On September 21–22, 2023, during the 59th ASOSAI Governing Board Meeting the delegation of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation led by Acting Chair Galina Izotova made a proposal to establish ASOSAI Working Group on Regional and Municipal Audit. The objective of the project is to support SAIs and regional control bodies in achieving higher performance indicators, sharing best audit practices, and improving approaches to SDG auditing at the regional level. The initiative was supported by Governing Board members. In accordance with the practice established in ASOSAI, a Special Committee was formed under the leadership of SAI Russia to determine the framework of the Working Group. 14 SAIs expressed interest in participating in the work of the Special Committee.

The event was attended by senior officials and employees of the Supreme Audit Institutions of India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Tajikistan and Thailan as well as representatives of Regional Audit Institutions of the Russian Federation (86 participants in total). Speakers from SAIs of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia and Thailand made presentations on national models for organizing external public and municipal audits. Despite the national specifics resulting from administrative-territorial structure, SAIs – Special Committee members face similar problems when conducting public audit in the regions.

• Limited organizational and financial resources.
• Uncertainty of legislative regulation.
• Inconsistency of the practices of Regional Audit Institutions with SAI standards.
• Lack of an effective mechanism for monitoring the implementation of recommendations.
• Insufficient development of digital infrastructure.
• Low level of professional training.

During the meeting, participants discussed drafts of Terms of Reference and Work Plan of the Special Committee. The purpose of its establishment is to assess the feasibility of creating a new ASOSAI Working Group. As part of the feasibility study, an analysis of the current state and specifics of the development of regional and municipal audit will be carried out, the main problems and options for their solution will be highlighted. Based on the results, Special Committee will determine the goals and scope of work of the proposed Group.

A report on the activities of the Special Committee will be presented at the next meeting in July 2024, and then sent for approval to the 16th ASOSAI Assembly (September 21–27, 2024 in New Delhi, India). Based on the Assembly results, a decision will be made to create a permanent Working Group.