Our Strategic Plan and its Implementation

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant but varied impact on societies, the work of SAIs, and the content and delivery of IDI support to SAIs. While some SAIs quickly introduced home working and continued to function, others faced temporary closures. SAIs in more challenged contexts struggled more due to ICT and connectivity issues, and less access to digital records. Many SAIs immediately redefined their audit priorities and began COVID-19 relevant audits, while others took longer to become fully operational. Some were restricted or unsure of how to adjust their strategic audit programmes to respond to changed environments and stakeholder expectations.

IDI stopped travel and face to face events in March 2020 and reviewed its strategy and 2020 plans. The starting point for IDI’s thinking was to accept increased uncertainty and try to build the resilience needed to thrive in an uncertain world, especially strategic agility and foresight capacity. IDI found that its high-level strategic plan remained relevant, but major changes were needed to the portfolio of IDI initiatives, the way in which IDI delivered support, and IDI’s internal operations.

IDI identified five cross-cutting themes to guide its support to SAIs in response to COVID-19. These are helping SAIs to prepare for the new normal, audit relevant to the new normal, enhance ICT and connectivity, leverage technology, and communicate via electronic media. IDI published guidance for SAIs and development partners on the topic of ‘Accountability in a Time of Crisis’ and launched five flagship initiatives:

• TAI: audit of transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in the use of emergency funding.

• Audit of Strong & Resilient National Public Health Systems: performance audits linked to SDG target 3.d

• Audit of the shadow pandemic: pilot audit of national targets related to SDG5.2: elimination of violence against women

• International Monetary Fund (IMF): exploring with the IMF how audit related commitments in emergency funding Letters of Intent (LOIs) can be a driver for better audit of the use of emergency funds

• Bilateral Support: facilitating SAI audits of the use of emergency funding in The Gambia, Madagascar and South Sudan, and following-up implementation of audit recommendations

These initiatives built on IDI plans, adjusted to the new normal, but also included new initiatives in response to COVID-19. Amendment and postponement of other planned initiatives was needed to create space for these flagship initiatives. Other relevant initiatives included support to two INTOSAI grant mechanisms designed to aid SAIs with continuity of operations through provision of funding for necessary ICT and connectivity, and research exploring the impact of COVID-19 on SAI independence. A longer -term response was to review and restructure the Well-Governed SAIs work stream, leading to four new initiatives now being launched, including on Risk and Crisis Management, and ICT Governance.

IDI also rapidly adapted its service delivery model to the New Normal and emerging SAI needs. This included adopting the F.A.R Approach (Flexible, Agile, Resilient Approach) to delivery of support. This entailed moving from separate online e-courses and face to face meetings to an integrated education and audit support framework. Other support previously offered face to face was replaced with online learning, varying from short, focused webinars to courses offered in modules spread over several weeks. Our Professional Education for SAI Auditors (PESA) pilot was launched, offering online professional level education to a first batch of 880 auditors from across 87 SAIs. We also expanded our digital education offer and infrastructure to enable others within INTOSAI to use our platforms for their own training and supported challenged SAIs with funding for internet and basic IT tools. And we created the "Healthy Interactions – Recipes for Online Facilitation" flipbook, meeting a need in the community for guidance on operating effectively online.

Finally, like others across INTOSAI and beyond, we made many adjustments to how we operate internally. We looked at how to be more agile as an organisation, recognising increasing uncertainties in the future. And we began to explore strategic foresight as a way of preparing and planning for uncertain futures. Staff worked from home, both in Norway and in diverse locations around the world, and we connected virtually. The pandemic impacted our people in so many ways, and we sought to provide the information, support and human connection necessary to navigate the different periods of lockdown.

IDI’s strategic and more detailed initial responses to COVID-19 are summarised in the following IDI Board documents, and integrated into the revised IDI Operational Plans for 2020 and 2021:

• Strategic Reflections on IDI’s Work Under the New Normal

• IDI Responses to COVID-19

The documents will be posted online soon.