What does EUROSAI stand for?

EUROSAI is the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, one of the Regional Groups of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)

According to article 3 of EUROSAI Statutes, Members of EUROSAI will be the Supreme Audit Institutions of public finances of the European States which are members of INTOSAI, in addition to the Supreme Audit Institution of the European Communities.

There are 7 Regional Groups within INTOSAI:

1. European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI);
2. Organisation of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions  (OLACEFS);
3. African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI) ;
4. Arab Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI);
5. Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI);
6. Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI);
7. Caribbean Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI).

1. ISSAI is the complete and updated collection of professional standards and best practice guidelines for public sector auditors, officially authorized and endorsed by the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).
2. The International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) stating the basic prerequisites for the proper functioning and professional conduct of Supreme Audit Institutions and the fundamental principles in auditing of public entities.

The main EUROSAI regulations are:

• EUROSAI Statutes.
• EUROSAI Standards Procedures.

Other relevant EUROSAI documents are:        

• EUROSAI Independence Statement.
• EUROSAI Strategic Plan.
• EUROSAI Financial Rules.
• Communication Framework.

The official languages of EUROSAI are: English, French, German, Russian and Spanish.

The objectives of the Organisation, defined in article 1 of its Statutes, are to promote professional co-operation among SAI members, to encourage the exchange of information and documentation, to advance the study of public sector audit, and to work towards the harmonization of terminology in the field of public audit among others.

In November 1990 the Constitutive Conference and I Congress of EUROSAI were held in Madrid (Spain). At this Assembly the first EUROSAI President and Governing Board were elected, the Statutes were debated and approved, and the headquarters and permanent General Secretariat were established in the offices of the Spanish Court of Audit.

At present, EUROSAI membership stands at 50 SAI (the SAI of 49 European States and the European Court of Auditors). Please, see the list of members of EUROSAI, at Members.

EUROSAI undertakes its activity through three Bodies: Congress, Governing Board, and Secretariat (article 4 of EUROSAI Statutes).

The EUROSAI Congress is the supreme body of the Organisation, which consists of Heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions who are members of EUROSAI or their duly authorized representatives. In order to be valid constituted, an absolute majority of members must be represented.

The Congress shall normally meet in ordinary session at least every three years.

1. An extraordinary session of the Congress can be convened by the Governing Board at its own initiative or at the request of at least half of the members.
2. The Congress shall be presided over by the Head of the Supreme Audit Institution of the country in which the Congress is held (article 7).

Article 2 of the EUROSAI Standards Procedures, provides for the possibility of extraordinary meetings.

For the adoption of agreements by Congress, an absolute majority of the votes of the members present will be necessary, except for provisions of articles 9.8 (modification of EUROSAI Statutes), 10.1.b (election of Members of the Governing Board) and 19 (in the event of dissolution).

According to articles 5-9 of EUROSAI Statutes, the Congress is composed of all members of the Organization. Article 6 of EUROSAI Statutes stipulates that the President of the Governing Board and the Secretary General of INTOSAI shall be able to participate, ex officio, in the Congress Meetings; representatives from other Institutions and Organizations may be admitted as observers through a decision of the Governing Board, which must be communicated to the Congress; an Observer cannot vote at the Congress. 

The Congress has the following tasks and duties (article 9 of EUROSAI Statutes):

• To establish guidelines necessary to attain the objectives of EUROSAI.
• To approve the reports of the other constituting bodies of EUROSAI on their respective activities.
• To approve proposals submitted by one or more of its members or by the Governing Board.
• To approve:
  • the budget for the period between two ordinary congresses;
  • the financial contributions of members;
  • the accounts of EUROSAI.
• To create technical Committees and working groups and determine their functions.
• To elect four members of the Governing Board.
• To choose the country in which the next ordinary meeting of the Congress is to be held.
• To modify the Statutes of EUROSAI, on the proposal from the Governing Board or one-third of EUROSAI members, by passing a resolution of the Congress by a two-thirds majority of those present, in which case the proposed modification should be sent to the members of EUROSAI 30 days in advance.
• To draft its own rules and regulations.
• To appoint the Auditors of EUROSAI.

The Governing Board is one of EUROSAI bodies (article 4 of the EUROSAI Statutes) with the following responsibilities (art.11):

• To oversee the fulfillment of EUROSAI Statutes.
• To adopt the decisions necessary for the functioning of EUROSAI, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Congress.
• To adopt the draft budget and to submit it to the Congress.
• To draft directions for the preparation and presentation of financial statements by the Secretariat and for their audit by the Auditors.
• To submit the accounts, together with the Auditors' report and its own comments to the Congress for approval.
• To submit a report on EUROSAI activities to each ordinary session of the Congress.
• To fulfill any other duties entrusted to them by the Congress.

According to article 6 of the EUROSAI Standards Procedures, the Governing Board shall meet at least once a year.

According to articles 10-12 of EUROSAI Statutes, the EUROSAI Governing Board is composed of eight Members:

• Four full-fledged (Presidents of SAI that hosted the last two ordinary sessions of Congress, Head of SAI to hold the next regular session of Congress, and Secretary of EUROSAI). The Heads of SAI that are part of the INTOSAI Governing Board and are EUROSAI Members also participate in the Governing Board, as Observers. Guests can be invited to the Governing Board meetings for presenting specific items of the agenda.
• Four elected by the Congress for a period of six years (two members renewable every three years).

Please, see the current composition of the EUROSAI Governing Board, at: http://www.eurosai.org/en/about-us/governing-board/ .

According to articles 13-14 of EUROSAI Statutes, the Secretariat of the Organisation is held permanently by the Tribunal de Cuentas of Spain, which is also the EUROSAI headquarters. The Secretary General of EUROSAI is the President of the Spanish Court of Audit.

The Secretariat keeps the EUROSAI Members in contact and promotes relations between them during the interval between Congresses. The Secretariat is also responsible for drafting a schedule of proposals to be submitted to the governing bodies, at the request of the Members. The Secretariat is responsible of the EUROSAI publications, and it hosts the EUROSAI website.
The Secretariat has the following responsibilities (art. 14 Statutes):

• To prepare the sessions of the Governing Board.
• To carry out the decisions of the Congress and the Governing Board.
• To prepare the draft budget of EUROSAI and to submit it to the Governing Board.
• To submit the financial statements, in addition to an annual financial report to the Governing Board.
• To execute the budget and maintain the accounts and records of EUROSAI.
• To perform the duties assigned to it by the Congress or the Governing Board.

These are the WGs, TFs and Committees working within EUROSAI at the moment:

• EUROSAI Working Group on Environmental Audit (set up in 1999 -IV Congress-). Chair: SAI of Estonia.
• EUROSAI Working Group on Information Technologies (set up in 2002 -V Congress-). Chair: SAI of Poland.
• Working Group on the Audit of Funds Allocated to Disasters and Catastrophes, set up as a Task Force in 2008 (VII Congress) and transformed into a Working Group in 2014 (IX Congress). Chair: SAI of Ukraine.
• Monitoring Committee for setting up and operating the electronic data base on good practices on audit quality (set up in 2011 -VIII Congress-, for developing and keeping updated the work done by the EUROSAI) Chair: SAI of Hungary.
• Task Force Audit & Ethics (set up in 2011-XXXVIII Governing Board). Chair: SAI of Portugal.

The X Congress, held in Istanbul in May 2017, endorsed the second EUROSAI Strategic Plan (ESP), which covers the period 2017-2023. This ESP had been drafted by Goal Team 4 “Governance and Communication”, under the leadership of the SAI of the Netherlands (2014-2017 Presidency).

The ESP 2017-2023 consists of the four following chapters: the Preamble, the Mission, Vision & Values, two Strategic Goals and Enhanced Governance.

1. The Preamble, which describes the context within which EUROSAI operates as a Regional Organisation and the challenges it faces.

2. The vision, the mission and values of EUROSAI that guide its daily work.

3. The two strategic goals, each of them led by two co-leaders who work in close cooperation with other EUROSAI members to achieve the desired outcomes:

• Strategic Goal 1: Supporting effective, innovative and relevant audits by promoting and brokering professional cooperation.
  • Co-leaded by the SAI of the Czech Republic (Governing Board member) and the SAI of Germany.
• Strategic Goal 2: Helping SAIs deal with new opportunities and challenges by supporting and facilitating their institutional capacity development.
  • Co -leaded by the SAI of Poland (Governing Board member) and the SAI of Sweden.

4. The Strategic Plan also places special emphasis on an enhanced EUROSAI Governance and Modus Operandi, defining the guiding principles and some key enhancements.

In accordance with article 9.4 of the Statutes, the Congress approves the EUROSAI budget, which covers the period between two ordinary Congresses (three years), beginning on January 1 of the year following a Congress and ending on December 31 of the year of the next Congress. 

At the end of each financial year, the execution of the budget shall be reflected in a financial report.

To read more about the EUROSAI financial framework please follow the link

The EUROSAI publishes an annual magazine containing contributions by members of the Organisation regarding their experiences and their ideas concerning the auditing of public resources and expenditure. It also reports on the most important activities by the Organisation and its members and it devotes monographic articles to describing the authorities and functions of some specific SAI.

EUROSAI magazine is printed in English, however EUROSAI magazine is available in electronic format in the five official languages of the Organisation.

Until November 2012, EUROSAI published a quarterly bulletin of short news items, the EUROSAI Newsletter, containing the latest new developments affecting the members of the Organisation. It was a printed record that complemented the magazine and gathered together the activities, references to publications or events that required more agile communication.

The EUROSAI Newsletter was also published in the five official languages of the Organisation: English, French, German, Russian and Spanish, in a multilingual edition.

Nowadays, the aforesaid printed Newsletter has been replaced by its electronic format, being possible to subscribe to the same in the News section of the EUROSAI website. The old Newsletters can be found on the mentioned section as well, through a chronological search (2012 and previous years).

EUROSAI members and other interested parties who wish to contribute to the update of the EUROSAI website (sending new information about events, materials, reports, etc.) can do so, according to the following procedures:

News must be sent, in English, to one of the two e-mails of the EUROSAI Secretariat; eurosai@tcu.es or tribunalcta@tcu.es.

For contributing to the  database of audits, please be aware that the database is under maintenance of GT3. GT3 has prepared a form which will be annually sent to EUROSAI members in order to complete the database with the information about the audits performed by each SAI. In case of any questions, please contact directly the GT3 team – regina.charyparova@nku.cz or michaela.rosecka@nku.cz.

For contributing to the database of products, please be aware that the database is under maintenance of GT3. If you want to add any relevant product, please contact directly the GT3 team – regina.charyparova@nku.cz or michaela.rosecka@nku.cz .

Since calendar events and training events must be translated into the five official languages, please send an e-mail with the subject: WEB UPDATE to the EUROSAI Secretariat; eurosai@tcu.es or tribunalcta@tcu.es.

For any other updates, please also contact the EUROSAI Secretariat.

There are four databases at your disposal on the EUROSAI website: databases of audit reports, surveys, products, and training events and outputs.

These databases were created to concentrate as much information as possible on one spot.

The database of audit reports is designed as a database containing basic information concerning audit reports published by the EUROSAI Members. This database contains basic information on each specific audit report, i. e. audit title, subject area, year of publication of the audit report, type of audit, short description of the audit, country performing the audit, materials which are available from the audit, type of performance (individual/coordinated audit), and contact person or institution. The database is updated regularly. The database of audits is available on the database section, http://www.eurosai.org/en/databases.

The database of products contains various products of INTOSAI and EUROSAI WGs and Committees including training materials and networks. By “products“, we understand publications, guidelines, handbooks, minutes from meetings, general materials, etc. This database contains basic information on each product such as: title of product, source, type of document, subject area (the same as in the audit database), year of publication, country of origin and hyperlink to the document. The database of products covers products from publicly accessible sources and it is available on the database section, http://www.eurosai.org/en/databases.

 The database of training activities collects information related to realised and planned educational activities of EUROSAI. In the database you can find specific information about training events, e.g. about the date, place, programme, and training materials. There are several filters to search the training events effectively. The database of training activities is accessible on the training section of the website http://www.eurosai.org/en/training/training-events-and-outputs.