Magazine No. 26 - 2021 113 Studies and other articles 3. Training and strengthening communication and coordination with member SAIs, committees of the organization and other relevant parties The General Secretariat of the ARABOSAI has organized six seminars and webinars in coordination with member SAIs, committees of the organization and relevant parties, during which many practical aspects of the implementation of audit work were discussed in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of sharing experiences and best practices to overcome its negative effects. In this context, the topics addressed through included themes related to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the role of Arab SAIs in auditing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030), challenges and points of interest related to financial auditing and methodology and standards for remote auditing and the role of regional organizations in facing the COVID-19 crisis, and opportunities of cooperation with partners (IDI, regional organizations and INTOSAI’s committees). Consequently, ARABOSAI has worked to strengthen interaction with the initiatives issued by the IDI, especially those related to the control of emergency funds devoted to financing health and social interventions resulting from the COVID-19 crisis, as the management of these funds is highly considered as subject to high risks of mismanagement and corruption. ARABOSAI has worked to strengthen interaction with the initiatives issued by the IDI Thus, ARABOSAI encouraged Arab SAIs to participate in this initiative in order to facilitate a global collaborative compliance audit focusing on transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in the use of emergency funds earmarked for COVID-19. In fact, the IDI initiative is shortly known by which is the acronym "TAI Audit" (Audit on the Transparency, Accountability and Inclusiveness). Furthermore, ARABOSAI Audit Committee on SDGs interacted with the IDI project on oversight of SDG 3-D “Strong and Resilient Health Systems” and encouraged member Arab SAIs to participate in this initiative. On another hand, and within the framework of sharing experiences and best practices between its members that included institutional aspects as well as professional ones, ARABOSAI published in this context, the measures taken to confront the COVID-19 crisis that were adopted by the State Audit Bureau in Qatar and also the work plan of the Federal Office of Financial Audit in Iraq. 4. Challenges Despite the abundance of efforts and activities undertaken by ARABOSAI in order to adapt to the constraints and new idiosyncrasies emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on the normal execution of ArabSAIs role andmandate, some aspects still require additional effort in order to limit their effects on the normal course of the control activities and the training and support activities provided by the ARABOSAI for its members. In this context, it was found through following up the programs of the Arab SAIs and the outputs of the international organizations, as well as through international webinar meetings, that some practical issues need more focus and attention from different stakeholders, including working on developing the use of information and communication technologies in audit work, which contributes to overcome the challenges of field work and provide sufficient guarantees for the smooth, reliable and continuity of remote control work. A new challenge also has raised from the post-COVID-19 crisis which is the effectiveness of the Arab SAIs and their ability to adopt efficient proactive approaches that allow them rapid adaptation to major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, ARABOSAI settled a working group to devise new procedures and methods for audit work to counter the risks that arise in similar situations. ARABOSAI settled a working group to devise new procedures and methods for audit work to counter the risks that arise in similar situations
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