Note by the Chairman
1 This paper presents a summary of the website of the INTOSAI Working Group on the Audit of Privatisation. It describes the patterns of use of the website and outlines recent changes we have made to the structure of the website. It closes by underlining the advantages of increasing the quantity of the Working Group’s communications that are conducted electronically (ie via both e-mail and the website itself).
Introduction
2 The website was established in 1999. Its purpose is to provide a resource to Working Group members to allow them to obtain quickly and easily the key working papers of the Working Group, whose practice it is to place draft documents on the website, so as to make them available without delay to everybody who is interested in the Group's work. This is in pursuit of one of our key remits "to exchange information on the range of experience within the Working Group’s membership".
3 The website is managed by the UK National Audit Office, who provide the secretariat of the Working Group. It is linked to the main INTOSAI website (
www.intosai.org).Use of the Website
4 We have monitored the number of visits to the website and the pages accessed. The website has been popular: we have had some 3,000 visits to the website pages in the quarter ended 30 June. On average, we receive around 200 to 300 visits to the website pages per week. Although each individual will probably view more than one page on the website in any visit, this still represents a significant level of use for a working group of 30 members. The heaviest week of use was in 16 April 2000, after we had placed the draft audit guidelines on economic regulation and on public/private finance and concessions on the website.
|
Website page |
Number of visits in 3 months to 30-06-00 |
|
Introduction page |
394 |
|
Guidelines on the audit of privatisation (Spanish) |
374 |
|
Draft guidelines on the audit of public-private finance and concessions |
223 |
|
Guidelines on the audit of privatisation (English) |
138 |
|
Papers for the 6th meeting of the Working Group (held in Warsaw) |
108 |
This Figure shows main parts of the website visited in the quarter to 30 June 2000.
Recent Changes to the Website
5 In May 2000, we updated the website extensively. Facilities now include:
6 The purpose of these changes is to:
Increasing the Use of the Electronic Communication by Working Group Members
7 Using electronic communication (both the website and electronic mail) to increase Working Group communication offers three advantages. First, it would facilitate the exchange of experiences between Working Group members outside the forum of our annual meetings. Second, it would allow Working Group members to transmit responses to draft documents more quickly than with the existing channels of mail or fax. And third, it would lower the costs of sharing key drafts and other papers.
8 Because of these benefits, members may wish to increase their use of e-mail to transmit documents to the secretariat. Allied to this, we could (subject to the agreement of each individual SAI) place the e-mail addresses of all members onto the website to facilitate informal communication between members. At the Buenos Aires meeting, we shall be asking for e-mail addresses for members of the Working Group who would like to participate, and we shall also be seeking their permission to place this information on the Working Group website.
July 2000