About the Working Group
Introduction
The Working Group was set up by the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) in 1993. (An overview of INTOSAI is available on the INTOSAI website.) This was in response to the increasing role of the private sector in providing what had previously been seen as "public" services such as electricity and transport. Their involvement takes many forms, including privatisations, contracting out and public-private partnerships.
SAIs face major challenges in holding the state to account when the boundaries between the public and private sectors are being re-drawn. They may need to acquire new skills in order to evaluate complex transactions, and they may not have direct access to the financial records of private service providers.
The Working Group was therefore established to:
- Identify and examine problems confronting SAIs in the audit of privatisation
- Exchange information on the range of experience within the Working Group's membership in resolving these problems, having regard to relevant work in INTOSAI regions, and
- Facilitate the provision of information on this subject to INTOSAI members
At the 2006 meeting in London, members agreed that it would be sensible to change the title of the Working Group to reflect its expanded remit. Much has changed since the inaugural meeting of the group in 1993 with a significant broadening of the privatisation audit field. Members now audit not just the sale of state assets, but also the economic regulation of privatised services. SAIs have also begun to look at audit issues associated with Public Private Partnerships (PPP) where the public and private sectors work together to deliver public services. The Working Group was subsequently renamed in 2007 as the "INTOSAI Working Group on the Audit of Privatisation, Economic Regulation and Public Private Partnerships" to reflect our work in areas related to privatisation.
The Group’s current remit, set by INCOSAI in 2007, is to:
- Continue to adjust the guidelines where necessary in the light of experience.
- Strengthen and develop further the existing series of technical case studies; and
- Increase the use of the INTOSAI collaboration tool as a forum for members to share advice and expertise and to facilitate joint working on a real time basis.
As at 2007, the Working Group's membership had grown to 42, making it one of the largest Working Groups/Committees within INTOSAI. It includes SAIs from former command economies, mixed economies and market economies and at various stages of development. For a list of members and their contact details please click here.
Activities
Meetings
The Group meets yearly to discuss recent developments in the audit of privatisation and to exchange best practice. The proceedings and papers of the meetings are here.
Guidelines
The Group has published four sets of guidelines. Translations into Arabic, French, German and Spanish are available here.
The guidelines set out the skills a SAI will need to audit a privatisation, and provides practical advice on examining the various methods of privatisations, such as trade sales and flotations.
The guidelines offer advice on auditing the various stages of procuring public-private financed projects, from scoping the project through to working with the private sector after a contract has been awarded.
The guidelines offer advice on evaluating the effectiveness of regulators in privatised industries.
The guidelines outline the key risks facing the state and the SAI when entering into or auditing public private partnerships. They also offer advice on managing these risks successfully.
Technical Case Examples
The Group is currently developing a series of illustrative case examples, based around key technical issues relating to the themes of Privatisations, Economic Regulations and Public Private Partnerships. Case examples relating to all these themes can be found on the Technical Case Examples page.
Digest of Experience
Members of the Working Group regularly submit papers on their experiences of auditing privatisations, economic regulations and public private partnerships, which are available in a digest of experience. The Group also maintains a database of contact information of its members showing their areas of specialisation.
Surveys
The Working Group has surveyed INTOSAI members on the following issues:
Further Information
If you have any comments about this site, please email Louise Bladen or Michelle Moffatt at PWG@nao.gsi.gov.uk.