The Heads of the SAO Czech Republic and the NAO Lithuania discussed the future of international cooperation of auditors, the effects of the pandemic, and work with open data
On 9 and 10 September 2021, SAO President Miloslav Kala met with his Lithuanian counterpart - Auditor General Mindaugas Macijauskas. The topics of the two-day meeting were, i. a., the EUROSAI Governing Board portfolio “Strategic Goal 1” on professional cooperation (“SG1”), which has been managed by the National Audit Office of Lithuania in cooperation with the Federal Court of Auditors of Germany since April this year. The presidents also discussed audits related to the covid-19 pandemic or communication with the public and work with open data.
The first part of the two-day meeting focused on the work of SG1. This group was led by the SAO from 2017 to 2021. This year, its leadership was taken over by Lithuanian colleagues. The Heads therefore discussed the future of the working group, which is dedicated to supporting coordinated audits, developing methodologies and audit procedures, and also exchanging experience and information between SAIs.
In order to facilitate the exchange of relevant data and information across countries, the SAO created the BIEP (Benchmarking Information Exchange Project) in 2016. So far, 47 SAIs have joined the BIEP. At the meeting, the Heads discussed how to further develop this platform.
Given the current covid-19 pandemic and its effects, the discussion also focused on how the pandemic affects the work of SAIs and the audits associated with the pandemic.
The meeting closed on the second day with a discussion on the experience of external communication and work with open data. The Czech SAO representatives also informed their colleagues from Lithuania about their experience in organizing a Hackathon of public administration and the International Hackathon of SAIs, which took place in March 2020.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office
The head of the NAO Lithuania Mindaugas Macijauskas
