WASHINGTON, April 12, 2014 – Last night, donor partners signed an agreement to establish a Multi Donor Trust Fund to support capacity building of Supreme Audit Institutions. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland has approved a contribution of 5 million Swiss Francs for the Fund.
“The goal of this effort is to strengthen the audit capacity in partner countries to make sure public money is used well,” said Kyle Peters, Vice President, World Bank Operations Policy and Country Services. “I am hopeful that other donors will also come forward to join this effort.”
Supreme Audit Institutions help ensure that public resources are spent in fighting poverty, boosting shared prosperity, and delivering services to the citizen efficiently.
“We are very happy to be the inaugural donor to this fund,” said Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, Switzerland’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs, who signed the trust fund agreement on behalf of the Swiss Government, the inaugural donor. “I know from experience how important these audit institutions are to helping government work better.”
Gene Dodero, Comptroller General of the U.S. and head of the Government Accountability Office and Vice Chair of the INTOSAI-Donor Steering Committee noted the importance of “marrying the vast technical experience of the INTOSAI community with stable funding for building the capabilities of audit institutions in developing countries to improve transparency and good governance.”
“Global support to Supreme Audit Institutions tends to be limited and fragmented,” said Joachim von Amsberg, Vice President, World Bank Concessional Finance and Global Partnerships, noting that recent studies have identified an estimated US$270 million is needed to support audit capacity in low- and lower-middle-income countries. “It’s clear that development partners and multilateral institutions like the World Bank Group need to work together to ensure these important accountability institutions function well for citizens. This trust fund is an important step in that direction.”
The SAI Capacity Development Fund will be administered by the World Bank.
BACKGROUND
International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is the umbrella organization for the Supreme Audit Institutions’ community. INTOSAI is a non-governmental organization, with special consultative status with the United Nations (UN). It has 192 full members and 5 associated members. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) play a vital role in helping their respective governments improve performance, enhance transparency, ensure accountability, fight corruption, and foster efficient service delivery for the benefit of their peoples.
