15th ASOSAI Assembly And 8th ASOSAI Symposium

AG, AAG Wee Leng, AD Kah Swee and AD Karishma attended the 15th ASOSAI Assembly and 8th ASOSAI Symposium held virtually from 7 to 8 September 2021. The Assembly was hosted by the State Audit Office of The Kingdom of Thailand, which would assume the position of ASOSAI Chair for the period 2021 to 2024. The 15th ASOSAI Assembly was attended by the Heads of SAIs and delegates from 47 ASOSAI member countries, and representatives from several other international and professional organisations including the INTOSAI Development Initiative.

AG representing AGO at the ASOSAI Assembly

The Assembly began with the outgoing Chair of ASOSAI, His Excellency Mr Tran Sy Thanh, giving delegates a warm welcome. The ASOSAI Chair highlighted the importance of coming together as a community to identify timely initiatives and solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by an update on the developments since the last ASOSAI Assembly in 2018, and the adoption of the Bangkok Declaration 2021. The Declaration outlines four chapters and twelve principles to guide the ASOSAI community in preparing for the next normal in public sector auditing.

AG (in upper left corner) participating in the proceedings at the 15th ASOSAI Assembly

In addition, ASOSAI members voted for the new members of the Governing Board and Audit Committee for the period 2021 to 2024. A virtual ceremony was also held to commemorate the change in ASOSAI Chairmanship from SAI Vietnam to SAI Thailand.

Transfer of Chairmanship from SAI Vietnam (represented by Head of SAI Mr Tran Sy Thanh) to SAI Thailand (represented by Head of SAI Gen. Chanathap Indamra)

The 8th ASOSAI Symposium was conducted on 8 September 2021. During the Symposium themed “The ASOSAI and the Next Normal: Resilience amidst Challenges”, representatives from ASOSAI member countries made presentations to share their experiences in the following sub-themes – promoting good governance in the next normal, leveraging advanced technologies for auditing, encouraging the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and responding to disaster and pandemic issues. AD Karishma presented on lessons learned from AGO’s ongoing digital transformation journey.

All in all, the ASOSAI Assembly and Symposium was a fruitful and enriching event for all participants. AGO will continue to engage our stakeholders, including our international counterparts at ASEANSAI, ASOSAI and INTOSAI levels.