Supreme Audit Office

https://www.nik.gov.pl/en/news/auditors-on-the-promotion-of-in

ternal-control-standards.html

Auditors on the promotion of internal control standards

2018-09-29 15:40:00

How to facilitate access to information concerning proper management control in public

administration - that was one of the issues discussed by the members of the INTOSAI Subcommittee

on Internal Control Standards at its meeting organised in the Supreme Audit Office of Poland. NIK has

chaired the Subcommittee since 2011.

The Subcommittee was established 30 years ago. It drafted the INTOSAI GOV 9100 Guidelines for

Internal Control Standards for the Public Sector, adopted in 2004. They are compliant with the

Subcommittee’s objective - to promote good governance.

In line with the above, according to the Guidelines ”The Supreme Audit Institution also has a vested

interest in ensuring that strong internal audit units exist where needed. Those audit units constitute

an important element of internal control by providing a continuous means for improving an

organisation's operations. In some countries, however, the internal audit units may lack

independence, be weak, or be non-existent. In those cases, the SAI should, whenever possible, offer

assistance and guidance to establish and develop those capacities and to ensure the independence

of the internal auditor's activities”.

Publication date 2022-03-16 15:49:20, page: 1/2

Supreme Audit Office

https://www.nik.gov.pl/en/news/auditors-on-the-promotion-of-in

ternal-control-standards.html

The idea of good governance has met with interest of the audited entities (in Poland among others

Ministry of Finance), because it enables to improve the governance practices in the public sector.

The INTOSAI system of standards and guidelines is currently being revised. One of the changes

concerns an assumption that the basic normative documents will be addressed at auditors and

Supreme Audit Institutions only, excluding auditees. This would mean that the Guidelines and similar

documents would be placed outside the INTOSAI Framework of Professional Pronouncements, which

would lower their rank.

Publication date 2022-03-16 15:49:20, page: 2/2