EUROSAI. Magazine N19 - 2013

Editorial EUROPEAN ORGANISATION OF SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS www.eurosai.org No. 19 - 2013 Dear Colleagues, We are coming to the end of the mandate established by the VIII EUROSAI Congress, which marked the beginning of a new era for EUROSAI. During these recent years we have been carrying out a wide range of actions to promote the implementation of the 2011 - 2017 Strategic Plan adopted by the VIII EUROSAI Congress and we are now very close to its mid-term evaluation, through which we’ll be able to perceive and asses the first sprouts of the Strategic Plan. As always, the EUROSAI Secretariat has been keen to support the work of the Goal Teams in the execution of the Strategic Plan. In this regard, I would like to emphasize a number of achievements such as the launching of the new website of our Organization or the adoption of the EUROSAI Financial Rules. The development of the new EUROSAI website has been a perfect example of the cooperative spirit that inspires EUROSAI, through the sharing of ideas by many colleagues from other SAIs and the highly appreciated collaboration of the Bundesrechnungshof with the website’s German version. Furthermore, the Financial Rules of EUROSAI approved by the Governing Board constitute another important milestone of 2013 , since they have provided EUROSAI with a unified collection of the principles, policies and procedures to be applied by EUROSAI in implementing its financial management. On the other hand, EUROSAI has continued its intense activity with other partners, as evidenced by the celebration, in April 2013 , of the IV EUROSAI-ARABOSAI Joint Conference, held in Baku, and the signing, also in April, of a Cooperation Agreement with IDI to promote capacity building for the implementation of the ISSAIs. The year 2014 will be very intense in the EUROSAI community. Worthy of mention is the fact that the XIX Congress will be held in The Hague (The Netherlands) from the 15 th to 19 th June 2014 and it will be an interactive experience that will spread innovation within the framework of EUROSAI through workshops and inspirational sessions. EUROSAI will also be furthering cooperation during this coming year with organizations with which solid ties already exist, as it is the case of the renewal of the cooperation agreement with the European Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditing (ECIIA). Likewise, 2014 will see the start of regular, wide-ranging cooperation between EUROSAI and AFROSAI, with the signing at the beginning of the year of a memorandum of understanding between both Organizations. I cannot conclude these words without expressing, once again, my sincere gratitude to the authors of their valuable contributions to this issue of the EUROSAI Magazine. At the same time, I would like to offer this forum to all those who wish to contribute to this common and stimulating project. Ramón Álvarez de Miranda President of the Spanish Court of Audit Secretary General of EUROSAI EDITORIAL > 5 <