Terms of Reference
1 The Working Group was set up in 1993 with the following terms of reference:
2 At XVI INCOSAI it was agreed that, in the period leading up to XVII INCOSAI in 2001 and acting within the ambit of their terms of reference, the Working Group should:
Membership and Meetings
3 Since May 1999 two new members (Antigua and Barbuda and the Czech Republic) have joined the Working Group, bringing total membership to 30 SAIs.
4 The sixth meeting of the Working Group was held in Warsaw in October 1999. The seventh meeting of the Group will be held in Buenos Aires on 18 and 19 September 2000. The eighth meeting will be held in Hungary on 12 and 13 June 2001. In between these annual meetings the Group do much of their work by correspondence and exchange of information.
Using the Privatisation Audit Guidelines
5 Many SAIs are reporting that they are finding the guidelines useful because they offer a structured approach to planning and carrying out audits. But the guidelines explicitly focus on the sales process, which is only one aspect of privatisation; while SAIs do not intervene in policy, there are a number of issues relating to the choice and timing of privatisations, including partial sales, and the post sale performance of the businesses concerned that are amenable to examination by SAIs. The Working Group will be exchanging experiences and examples of these which could be addressed in further guidance.
Exchange of Information on Completed Privatisation Audits
6 The Group's internet website [
http://www.nao.gov.uk/intosai/wgap/home.htm ] contains copies of the privatisation audit guidelines in the INTOSAI official languages, as well as papers and proceedings of recent Group meetings, draft working documents, reports and supporting audit information. Hits on the website are currently running at 200 to 300 a week.The Audit of Economic Regulation
7 In December 1999 the Chairman of the Working Group wrote to all SAIs enclosing a copy of the Working Group's report on the survey of the audit of economic regulation, to which 67 SAIs contributed. A copy of this working document has been placed on the Group's website.
The Audit of Public/Private Finance and Concessions
8 At their seventh meeting in Buenos Aires, and in accordance with their remit from XVI INCOSAI, the Working Group will be considering draft guidelines on best practice in the audit of both public/private finance and concessions and of economic regulation. These drafts and supporting material have been placed on the Group's website.
Guidelines for Submission to XVII INCOSAI
9 Subject to the agreement of the Buenos Aires meeting, the next stage will be to circulate both sets of draft guidelines to the full INTOSAI membership for comment, with a view to submitting final revised texts to the eighth meeting, in Hungary in June 2001, for agreement that they should be submitted for adoption to XVII INCOSAI meeting in November 2001.
Other Privatisation Issues
10 The Warsaw meeting also included an exchange of views and information on the state's role as minority shareholder in companies, and the changing accountability framework that confronts SAIs following privatisations of businesses and services.