This is the perfect moment to launch a broader and more inclusive discussion on the role Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) have in promoting good governance. In the paper Integrating Governance in the Post-2015 Development Framework, the United Nations highlights the vital link between good governance and development. This concern has led to the inclusion of Goal 16 – commonly referred to as the governance goal – amongst the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) approved in September 2015. This goal establishes the need to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.

How can governments better learn from the past, make sound choices in the present, and think strategically about the long-term and the future? How can citizens be more confident that policy decisions are taken with their needs in mind? In a demanding and increasingly complex fiscal and policy environment, it is critical to consider the valueadded of all stakeholders in the Executive, Legislature and civil society, including independent actors like supreme audit institutions (SAIs), when answering these questions.

New strategies for public governance, catalysed by the financial crisis, economic deceleration and the need for governments to do more with less, have compelled countries to take introspective reviews of government processes and their outcomes. Moreover, a decline in citizens’ trust in government, coupled with a surge in inequality, underscores the need for public programmes to be more effective and responsive to citizens’ needs.

This chapter outlines the motivation for exploring the role of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in the 21st century, and the main objectives and methodological approach followed throughout the report. The main findings are synthesised based on survey data and case studies of ten SAIs that assess and support policy formulation, implementation and evaluation (Chapters 2, 3 and 4 respectively). Good practices and limitations in SAI activities are drawn together to outline key considerations for SAIs when assessing their relevance in the 21st century. In particular, this chapter outlines SAIs’ evolution from providing oversight to contributing insight and foresight for improved governance across the policy cycle. This chapter explores the potential for SAIs, as well as the executive and legislature, to enhance their current and potential impact on improving the broader governance architecture.

This chapter assesses the role of supreme audit institution (SAIs) in supporting policy formulation and its key functions: strategic steering and planning, budgetary planning, establishing regulatory policy, and setting internal controls and managing risk. It maps SAI activities that assess and support the achievement of good practices in policy formulation, and illustrates with case studies how SAIs are looking at the adequacy of the executive and legislature’s preparations in decision and policy making. Moreover, this chapter presents examples of SAIs that contribute to evidence-based policy making by assessing government entities’ use of evidence and indicators in decision making, analysing risks and creating projections on cost savings.

This chapter looks at the role of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in supporting policy implementation and its key functions: co-ordination and communication, budget execution, implementation and enforcement of regulatory policy and the exercise of internal controls and risk management. In this stage of the policy cycle, SAIs are active in carrying out traditional activities, such as audits of budgetary processes or compliance with policies. This chapter explores opportunities and limitations for SAIs to integrate value-for-money criteria into such activities. The discussion is supported by examples from SAIs that have developed initiatives and products in this area that cut across both sectors and line entities. This chapter explains how SAIs can offer a unique overarching perspective in support of policy implementation to help decision makers spot trends and understand trade-offs.

This chapter looks at the role of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in supporting policy evaluation and oversight through assessment of key government functions of evaluating for results as well as ensuring accountability. It maps the activities of ten SAIs that are active in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of evaluation mechanisms in the executive branch. In addition, this chapter illustrates how SAIs are providing oversight and insight through audits and advisory work that can help government to determine whether outcomes of policies and programmes have been achieved. Findings in the chapter offer considerations for SAIs to make in an era of performance-based public management, including the potential trade-offs between auditing for accountability and evaluating for results.