INTOSAI, the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, includes the SAIs of countries, which are members of the United Nations or a specialized organization of the UN. The mission of the international organization founded in 1953 is to facilitate mutual assistance, the exchange of knowledge and experience, and to represent supreme audit institutions in the international community. As the internationally recognized leading institution of public finance audit, main task of INTOSAI is the development and management of the cooperation between SAIs. The organisation elaborates, develops and publishes the framework of professional documents containing guidelines for international audit, its tasks and objectives for a five-year time horizon are laid down in a strategic plan.
The principal decision-making body of INTOSAI is the Congress, which meets every three years, and is responsible for the implementation of the strategic goals of the organisation and the development of recommendations, which ensure the capacity building of supreme audit institutions. The task of the Governing Board, which meets annually, is to prepare measures to guarantee the operation of the organisation, while the General Secretariat performs administrative and financial tasks, supports the work of the governing bodies, and promotes communication, information and knowledge sharing between members. The duties of the General Secretariat are performed by the Austrian Court of Audit, based in Vienna. A significant part of the work takes place in INTOSAI committees and working groups, which contribute to the implementation of strategic tasks by developing professional materials. The realisation of INTOSAI goals and the management of specific problems of each region are also supported by seven regional working groups. These regional working groups are OLACEFS, AFROSAI, ARABOSAI, ASOSAI, PASAI, CAROSAIand EUROSAI.
The Supreme Audit Institution of Hungary has been a member of INTOSAI since 1968, following its reorganization in 1989 as the State Audit Office of Hungary (SAO). Since 1990, our institution has been also a member of EUROSAI, the European regional organization of INTOSAI. The State Audit Office of Hungary played an important role in the management of INTOSAI for more than two decades, being a member of the Governing Board between 2001-2007, and in 2004 our institution hosted the XVIII Congress while between 2004 and 2007, the President of the SAO acted as President of the Governing Board. The SAO takes an active role in several committees and working groups, supporting the realisation of the goals of the organisation. In addition to all this, the SAO participates in the activities of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) and provides professional support to it as a donor, with particular attention to the Hungarian foreign trade strategy.