On August 8, 2024, the final 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.

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 initiative was supported by the Governing Board members.

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. 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 Special Committee made an overview of the current state and specifics of the development of the local audit in the ASOSAI community, identified problem areas and directions for promising cooperation.

The main data source for the report is the responses from member SAIs collected through the Questionnaire developed by the Special Committee. The analysis was enriched by insights from international organizations together with the outcomes of the Special Committee webinars. The Study conducted showed that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to external audit of local government. Types of audit entities that carry out public audit at the local level, their competencies and cooperation models with SAIs vary across countries.

ASOSAI Working Group on Regional and Municipal Audit will focus on discussing and disseminating best audit practices, developing methodological recommendations and launching new inclusive cooperation formats.

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