1. Quality Assuring INTOSAI Public Goods that are Developed and Published outside Due Process
Alan Findlay – PSC secretariat / European Court of Auditors
I think there are many ways to present this interesting topic, but I think the most interesting might be to talk a little first about the background of Due Process which will allow us to see a quality framework in action and to appreciate a little the steps involved in placing standards in a framework. The framework bears the INTOSAI name and brand and INTOSAI is keen that this brand is seen as standing for a certain quality and maturity that users worldwide can rely on.
Against this background is the considerable amount of material, guidance notes, studies, guides and checklists produced by SAIs or other INTOSAI organisations such as IDI which are publically available and well appreciated by users. These public goods also carry the INTOSAI name to some extent and it would be appropriate to display for users some guarantee of quality.
IDI – INTOSAI Regions Workshop, Oslo

2. INTOSAI FRAMEWORK OF PROFESSIONAL PRONOUNCEMENTS
INTOSAI Principles (INTOSAI-P)
INTOSAI Principles
INTOSAI founding principles
INTOSAI core principles
International Standards of Supreme Audit Organisations (ISSAIs)
Competency Standards (COMP)
INTOSAI Standards ❸
Fundamental principles of public sector auditing
(Reserved for future development based on ISSAI 100) ❹
SAI organisational requirements
Financial audit:
Performance audit:
Compliance audit:
Other engagements:
(Possibly) Competency principles
FA principles
PA principles
C A principles
(Reserved for future development based on ISSAI 100)
FA standards
PA standards
CA standards
… and competency standards
Guidance (GUID)
Competency Guidance
(COMP)
INTOSAI Guidance
(Reserved for future development based on ISSAI 100)
SAI organisational guidance
One of the key developments at the INCOSAI congress last year in December was the adoption of a Revised Framework of INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements, basically the new framework divides professional pronouncements into three broad categories- the founding or basic principles in green, the audit standards in red and the guidance notes etc., the GUIDS, in blue.
There are many ways to think about this new framework, And one of the ways I like to think about it is like a very exclusive nightclub. It is not easy to get into, you cannot just walk in off the street and become a member or get a drink, you have to be approved and admitted formally, and this can take time. And there are often two very large gentlemen standing at the door to make sure than not just anyone gets in,
So, how do you get in to the new framework?
Supplementary
financial audit guidance
Supplementary
performance audit guidance
Supplementary
compliance audit guidance
(Reserved for future development based on ISSAI 100)
Supplementary competency guidance
Subject matter specific guidance
Other Guidance

3. “Due Process” for INTOSAI’s framework of professional pronouncements
First of all a little background to Revised Due Process, and my apologies to those who have heard this before, but understanding Due Process will help put into context why certain documents fall outside Due Process and what this means in terms of potential issues of quality.
Let’s have a quick walk-through Due Process which came into force as you know at the INCOSIA Congress which took place at the end of 2016.
It looks complicated at first glance, but in fact Due Process is simply a logical procedure which defines the procedures through which INTOSAI issues / revises / withdraws ISSAIs and GOVs. The presentation is in fact a visual presentation of the Due Process document.
Press twice to change slide
Due Process is split into 4 main logical phases:
Stage 1 - the project proposal
Stage 2 – the exposure draft
Stage 3 – the endorsement version
Stage 4 – the final pronouncement.
However, if you extend the logical model a bit further you will see that in fact a “Stage 0” is probably also necessary.
“Stage 0” would be the Strategic Development Plan, approved by the PSC and endorsed by the Governing Board, This sets out the strategy and the plan for the development of principles and guidance and this is obviously going to influence what will be required to be subject to Due Process for the period covered by the SDP.
Between each of the stages you will see that FIPP has quite decisive roles to play.
FIPP has been especially created to assist and approve professional pronouncements. Often referred to as the ‘single gateway’ all draft professional pronouncements have to pass through the tender hands of FIPP if they are going to survive and become fully – fledged professional pronouncements.
FIPP is like the two large gentlemen at the door of the club,
What happens to the pronouncements which have gone through Due Process? Well hopefully, they will end up in the IFPP which we talked about earlier.
In reality there is also a “Stage 0”
The process contains in total four main stages

4. Due Process thus has the following characteristics …
Quality process built in to project proposal
Transparent and open public exposure process
Oversight by FIPP
Assurance to Governing Board from Goal Chair
Applies only to products in the IFPP
Due Process thus has the following characteristics …
Quality processes are built into the project proposals and FIPP is vigilant that the quality aspects are present and credible.
Transparent and open public exposure process gives all stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the exposure draft.
Oversight and approval throughout by FIPP.
Assurance from the responsible Goal Chair to the Governing Board that ‘Due Process’ has been followed in all aspects.
But what about other products or public goods written and published outside of FIPP? They all carry in some way the INTOSAI brand and thus this has two main implications:

5. Public goods outside Due Process
- implications
Users have the right to expect that these goods have been subject to appropriate quality assurance procedures and users should be informed what these processes are.
Public goods that are of poor quality represent a risk to INTOSAI’s reputation / brand.
So what we are looking for now is a way of giving these public goods a stamp or a seal of quality, and based on the experience with due process and their own experiences, the Goal Chairs propose the following principles for public goods outside due process …

6. Principles of a quality system for public goods outside Due Process
Transparent, but neither excessively costly nor bureaucratic
Contain a revision or expiry clause
Contain a statement of quality assurance
Recognise that different levels of quality assurance are appropriate for different public goods
Principles of a quality system for public goods outside Due Process
For last point : What does this mean concretely?

7. Different levels of quality assurance for different goods
Some examples
Products which have been subjected to equivalent quality assurance.
Products which have been subject to more limited quality control procedures
Products which have undergone rigorous quality control measures
Different levels of quality assurance for different goods
i) Products that have been subjected to quality assurance processes equivalent to INTOSAI due process, including an extended period of transparent public exposure (for INTOSAI Due Process, the exposure comment period is 90 days) ;
ii) Products that have been subjected to more limited quality assurance processes involving stakeholders from outside the body or working group responsible for the products’ initial development. Quality assurance processes might, for example, include piloting, testing and inviting comments from key stakeholders, although not go as far as full 90-day public exposure;
iii) Products that have been subjected to rigorous quality control measures within the body or working group responsible for their development;

8. Paper to be submitted to INTOSAU Governing Board In November 2017
All new public goods published on or after 1 December should conform to these principles and carry a quality assurance statement
Existing public goods which were not subject to due process to have quality assurance statements by 31 December 2018
Goal chairs and IDI to oversee this process for their own products (and of those of the related sub-committees and working groups)
Goal Chairs and IDI to produce a definition of “INTOSAI Public Goods”
Next steps
And here a good starting point may be the definition given in the IDI strategic plan for global public goods.