COA leads international meet on public debt audit

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA), the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of the Philippines, led the Annual Meeting of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Working Group on Public Debt (WGPD) held from June 5-7 in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

COA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba chaired the 3-day event of the INTOSAI WGPD.

The WGPD’s mandate stems from one of the three Goal Committees of the INTOSAI Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Services. It is tasked to prepare and publish guidelines and other materials for use by SAIs to encourage the proper reporting and sound management of public debt; identify key issues for the development of responsibilities and procedures for auditing and evaluating public debt commitments; and exchange knowledge with other institutions dealing with public debt issues, among others.  

The 2024 Azerbaijan Meet focuses on the theme “Responding to the Global Challenges of Public Debt.” Delegates from 28 member-SAIs discussed issues such as the capacity gap among auditors in the Audit of Public Debt and Public Debt Management and SAI’s challenges in the audit of debt sustainability. Expert resource persons from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the International Budget Partnership shared their experiences and expertise in the domain of public debt.

In his welcome address, Cordoba highlighted the importance of knowledge sharing and nurturing collaborations with stakeholders in responding to the challenges of public debt. 

“Current conflicts greatly compounded a number of pre-existing adverse global public debt trends. Among these include the prevalent issue of risk management and debt sustainability, the due attention called for green financing and other climate/ environment-related debt concerns, constant need to keep up with and maximize technological advancements to further public debt audits, and the need to capacitate auditors as the topic of public debt audit continues to evolve and remain a challenge. This year’s Meeting is envisioned not only as a forum for knowledge-exchange on these various topics but also to serve as a footing for SAIs to implement concrete actions in the workplace,” he said.

The Chair was ably supported by OIC-assistant commissioner Lito Martin of the COA Professional and Institutional Development Sector and director Ma. Theresa Ferreros of the COA Accounting Systems Development and Other Services Office. 

COA has chaired the WGPD the past seven years and acts as the Secretariat to the Working Group contributing in the wide exchange of knowledge and experience among member SAIs and the INTOSAI Community. 

The 2025 WGPD Meet will be held in Romania.