EUROSAI. Magazine N21 - 2015

EUROPEAN ORGANISATION OF SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS ISSAI SPOTLIGHT 47 www.eurosai.org · N.º 21 - 2015 management and control; and improving clarity of the document. The survey also indicated the need for additional guidance and examples. Based on these results, a project proposal was then submitted and approved by the PSC Steering Committee in May 2014. To deal with the actual revision of ISSAI 30, and to provide for a broader regional representation, the team was enlarged to include also representatives from the SAIs of Albania, Chile, Hungary, Kuwait, Mexico, Namibia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa. The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has also participated as observer. In this composition, the Team has developed, through meetings and correspondence, the revised version of ISSAI 30, always keeping in mind the conclusions of the survey. 3. Contribution of the EUROSAI Task Force on Audit & Ethics While recommending the need to revise ISSAI 30, the Review Team also drew on the achievements of the EUROSAI Task Force on Audit & Ethics (TFA&E). The Task Force was established in 2011, under the leadership of the SAI of Portugal, to promote ethics both in SAIs and in public organisations. One of its goals (promoting ethics as a pillar of SAIs) closely relates with the implementation of ISSAI 30. The TFA&E has implemented several initiatives to raise awareness and reflect on SAIs’ ethical management. It has identified good practices, guidelines and discussion items about how to implement and encourage ethical behaviour. Discussions about ISSAI 30 and its implementation by SAIs were held at a seminar organised by the TFA&E in 2014 in Lisbon. Considering that the process to review ISSAI 30 had been initiated, the TFA&E prepared a document summing up those discussions and sent it to the ISSAI 30 Review Team. This document was ultimately annexed to the project proposal on the ISSAI 30 revision. The Chair as well as some other members of the TFA&E (SAIs of Albania, Hungary, Poland and the Netherlands) have been actively participating in the ISSAI 30 Review Team, conveying the importance of institutional policies and leadership initiatives to foster an ethical environment and promote ethical behaviour. They have also provided the Team with information on the identified good practices of SAIs, to be considered as guidance in the revised ISSAI 30. 4. Main changes introduced in the draft revised ISSAI 30 A. One of the main changes in comparison with the present version of ISSAI 30 is the new wording of the fundamental values that underpin ethical behaviour. These values, along with a summarised explanation of each value, follow: • • Integrity – to act honestly, reliably, in good faith and in the public interest, • • Independence and objectivity – to act in an impartial and unbiased manner, To deal with the actual revision of ISSAI 30, and to provide for a broader regional representation, the teamwas enlarged to include also representatives from the SAIs of Albania, Chile, Hungary, Kuwait, Mexico, Namibia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa. The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has also participated as observer The TFA&E has implemented several initiatives to raise awareness and reflect on SAIs’ ethical management. It has identified good practices, guidelines and discussion items about how to implement and encourage ethical behaviour