Real-time audit allows us to identify risks and slippages before they generate major losses

Conducting the audit in real time means anticipation, prevention, proactive action that would allow the identification of slippages before they generate major losses, according to Chairman of Romania's Court of Auditors (CCR) Mihai Busuioc.

He addressed the opening of the third meeting of the Project Group on the Benefits and Methodologies of Real-Time Audit (BMRTA), an event hosted by CCR jointly with Italy's Court of Auditors, about the need for real-time audit, one of the biggest challenges of the SAIs to remain relevant in a present in which the speed with which information spreads the pressure for quick reactions and citizens' expectations of good governance require a paradigm shift.

"Real-time audit means anticipation, prevention, proactive action. It allows us to identify risks and slippages before they generate major losses, to provide useful recommendations when decisions are still in the making, not just to find mistakes after they have occurred. I believe that the most important change will be brought in a chronological framework - we will no longer produce reports about what happened in the past years, but about what is happening today - and that is crucial," Busuioc is quoted as saying in a press statement released by CCR on Thursday.

He presented the concrete steps taken by CCR to support this strategic direction:

"We have started to integrate digital technologies, to develop data analysis tools and to work to move from retrospective auditing to one closer to the operational reality of public bodies. We know that this process entails important changes - investment in new skills, increasing the level of interoperability between SAIs and audited entities - but I am convinced that these discussions will help us identify the most appropriate solutions," Busioc said.

The event, which takes place on Thursday and Friday, brings together representatives of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from several participating countries and aims to create a common framework for understanding and applying real-time audit.

The working group aims to centralise knowledge and highlight the concrete benefits of real-time audit, especially in contexts that require quick reactions and well-founded decisions. Subjects such as the principles, characteristics and potential applications of real-time auditing are addressed during the discussions, both for bodies that already apply it and for those that wish to adopt it.

"The work of the working group contributes significantly to the modernisation of external public audit and it is essential because real-time audit becomes a valuable tool not only for quick and efficient actions, but also for providing relevant and timely information to the Parliament and society as a whole," according to CCR.

The Project Group on Benefits and Methodologies of Real-Time Audit (BMRTA) was launched within EUROSAI in May 2023, with the aim of identifying and promoting common practices among European SAIs on the use of real-time auditing. It allows the rapid evaluation of ongoing measures or projects, providing relevant recommendations in a timely manner, to prevent the waste of public resources. The Romanian Court of Auditors has expressed its interest in being part of this project group to actively participate in the meetings of the established group, starting with the first kick-off meeting organised in 2023 at the headquarters of the Italian Court of Auditors in Rome.