Making SAI Independence a Reality (2014)

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in
November 2013, the Heads of State reaffirmed their commitment to the independence of supreme audit institutions (SAIs).

Independence is something which SAIs can progressively gain by demonstrating that they can produce high quality useful audits and that they are operating as professional, open and transparent organisations. Much is likely to be made over the next few years of the importance of good governance and the post-2015 UN sustainable development goals will commit the world to improvements in this area. SAIs need to embrace this agenda and show that they are capable of managing their independence in an accountable, open and responsible manner.

This paper provides advice, based on the experiences of Commonwealth SAIs, on how to work towards independence.