Taking stock: SAI activities in supporting policy evaluation and oversight

4 – SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS’ INPUT INTO POLICY EVALUATION AND OVERSIGHT – 131

and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada. It examined how information is exchanged between regulatory and financial institutions to foster effective decision-making (OAG, 2010).  A report from the European Court of Auditors looked at the adequacy of the control system in governing the production, processing, distribution and import of organic products. This report discussed the effectiveness of the control system for organic products and noted the inherent difficulties of establishing an “organic” label without a clear scientific way of guaranteeing the organic nature of a given product. The report recommends enhanced dialogue between member states and clearer leadership from the Commission.  The US Government Performance Management Modernization Act (GPRAMA) requires agencies to assess whether regulations are contributing to governmental cross-agency priority goals. As part of the GAO’s mandate to audit the implementation of GPRAMA, it assessed the retrospective analysis of regulations and the resulting modification of regulations to align them more closely with national objectives. The resulting report, Re-examining Regulations: Agencies Often Made Regulatory Changes, but Could Strengthen Linkages to Performance Goals, noted that agencies often do make changes to regulations in response to ex post reviews, but recommends improved reporting standards to disseminate information on progress in regulatory reform (GAO, 2014b). Responsive and accessible services (Table 4.2, key element C), transparent legislative and judicial processes (Table 4.2, key element E) and engagement of stakeholders in evaluation processes (Table 4.2, key element G)

At the core, SAIs’ work stems from a belief in transparency and information sharing. SAIs undertake audits to understand how transparency and information sharing play out across government. In addition to making their reports open to the public, SAIs open lines of communication to citizens through online portals, social media and workshops and seminars.

7/10

Of peer SAIs have looked at:

The existence of stakeholder consultations on experiences with programmes and services.

8/10

Of peer SAIs have looked at:

The adequacy of reporting mechanisms for the accessibility of citizens.

8/10

Of peer SAIs have looked at:

Compliance with access to freedom of information laws.

SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE: OVERSIGHT, INSIGHT AND FORESIGHT © OECD 2016