Muscat, Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Auditor General of the National Audit Office (NAO), participated in the 20th meeting of the Heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Oman, under the chairmanship of Shaikh Ghosn Hilal Al Alawi, Omani Chairman of the State Audit Institution.
The Auditor praised the level of cooperation and coordination between the Gulf Supreme Audit Institutions and called for more joint work based on mutual interest to benefit all.
He explained that the rapid digital and technological transformation the world was witnessing in various fields and sectors, and the mandatory dealing with big data, risks, information systems, cybersecurity and other aspects, required auditors to keep pace with those developments and update auditing methods to suit these changes.
“Although technology depends on machines, programming and artificial intelligence (AI), the human element remains the basis for progress and development, which means that raising the pace of training, upgrading capabilities, improving competencies and increasing the exchange of experiences and knowledge whether at regional or international levels is very important,” Shaikh Ahmed added.
The meeting approved the training plan for the years 2024-2025 and the operational plan for the strategic training plan 2023-2025, which were prepared by the NAO of Bahrain.
The heads of the SAIs were briefed on the topics of the sixth competition of the GCC for Research and Studies in the field of auditing and accounting consisting of two categories.
The first competition category is dedicated to employees with less than ten years of service and deals with the topics “The importance of information systems auditing and cybersecurity in the public sector” and “The role of supreme audit institutions in facing the challenges of applying artificial intelligence in audit work”.
The second competition category is aimed at employees with more than ten years of service and discusses the topic “The added value achieved by the Supreme Audit Institutions … the method of measuring it and ways to highlight and display it”.
Proposals to sign two memorandums of understanding, one with King Fahd Library and another with the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) were approved.
In addition, the meeting reviewed the updates of some manuals (Performance Audit Manual, Audit Report Preparation and Writing Manual, Information Technology Audit Manual, Privatization Audit Manual, Governance Audit Manual, and Public Projects Audit Manual).
Source: Bahrain News Agency
