IDI/Audit of Lending and Borrowing Frameworks -ALBF 2013-2017

Support SAI capacity in auditing the use and implementation of the UN principles by sovereign borrowers and lenders, as well as to initiate a process of harmonizing the International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) with the UNCTAD principles.
Background:
In the last decade, several national governments (referred to as sovereigns) have faced debt crises. The frequency and severity of debt crises and the consequent adverse impact on managing of public finances reinforces the need for promoting responsible lending and borrowing behaviours. An important role in this is played by the national oversight institutions like the Parliaments and SAIs. The INTOSAI Working Group on Public Debt (WGPD) has developed ISSAIs and case studies to focus on public debt audit issues. The ISSAIs provide an overarching guidance to the SAIs engaged in public debt audit. Lack of globally agreed rules and regulations guiding sovereign financing have contributed to irresponsible sovereign borrowing and lending. UNCTAD has developed a set of voluntary principles on responsible sovereign lending and borrowing. The principles are meant to fill this gap.
In 2013, the IDI launched a comprehensive global programme on public debt with a focus on supporting SAIs in strengthening their audit capabilities in assessing the legal and administrative frameworks in the borrowing as well as lending sovereign functions.
Lessons learnt so far:
-In the field of public debt audit, it helps to involve public financial management experts from institutions like the central banks, multilateral agencies, debt offices to bring clarity in contextual understanding of the pilot audit by the debt auditors, but also to build consensus and better understanding of the role of SAIs in good governance and public financial management. -Simultaneous delivery of the programme in two language groups imparts a truly global character to the programme as cross cutting issues in different regions and countries are addressed concurrently Creation of a certified pool of public debt audit champions is a critical input to sustainability of this programme, since lack of adequately skilled resource persons has been one of the biggest challenges of this programme. It is likely that the pool of certified public debt auditors, when available in 2016 could provide the necessary human resources for furthering the dissemination of public debt auditing. -This coupled with IDI efforts to forge fresh alliances at the global and regional level with other partners and stakeholders to develop strategies and gain financial resources for future dissemination of the auditing guidance