Background of SAI ITMA
Among the resolutions of the last International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI, 2019), a call was made for Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to make a better (greater) use of Information Technology (IT) in fulfilling their mandates, by planning IT-specific audits, developing IT analytical skills and introducing new IT techniques into the public audit practice.
This challenge is greater for SAIs in developing countries, and countries in transition, due to their limited technical, financial and human resources. It is in these cases where Development Partners can be instrumental in improving the IT capacity of SAIs.
Therefore, the model called SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MATURITY ASSESSMENT (SAI ITMA), was developed with the purpose of assessing the performance of SAIs in an objective and transparent manner, to report on the state of the SAI's institutional capacities related to Information Systems, as well as to call attention to those strategic, technical, budgetary and human resources aspects that need to be strengthened.
The cited model is based on benchmarks that measure the capacity and need for strengthening in the IT area. This initiative is based on the current need to measure the level of maturity in terms of Information Technology. In this sense, it seeks to lead to new paradigms by promoting and supporting SAIs in the more effective and efficient fulfillment of their mandate, through the evaluation of qualitative and quantitative elements related to their daily work and use of technological tools. The change that occurs in Information Technologies and geotechnologies is the basis of the SAI ITMA. This can also be called SAIs 4.0 (in Spanish Contralorías 4.0), since it implies a Registration System for the Commitment and Knowledge System, which brings with it not only technical changes, but also cultural ones. In this new paradigm, the target audience is instigated to a greater interaction and search for knowledge, beyond traditional courses, through the use of a new set of tools and work methodologies, supported by applications, devices and through access to data by information networks. All this results in greater assertiveness, efficiency and effectiveness in the assigned tasks.
Along with the rapid development of Information Technologies and, consequently, technological packages (software, applications), spatial analysis – as a significant or enriching element of information analysis – has also evolved, and shows its potential in products such as maps and graphics that provide added value for decision makers.
In this sense, Geoprocessing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been consolidated in many areas of application, especially in the planning and governmental public control sectors. This has provided support for administrative and executive decision making, while at the same time facilitating the use of programs on computer environments that are increasingly easier to use and apply.
Thus, both in theory and in practice, one cannot speak of the concepts of Information Systems and Geographic Information Systems separately, since information is conceived for "comprehensive decision making". According to GUID 5100 "Guidance on Audit of Information Systems", Information Systems can be defined as a combination of strategic, managerial and operational activities involved in the collection, processing, storage, distribution and utilization of information and its related technologies.
About Us
SAI ITMA was supported by the Sector Programme Good Financial Governance of Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the implementation organisation of German International Cooperation under the auspices of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. It has been developed in cooperation with central partners such as the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Development Initiative (IDI).