International Audit Standards & Guidance

INTOSAI Professional
Pronouncements

Explore the professional pronouncements, principles, standards and guidance that support high-quality public-sector auditing and provide a common framework for Supreme Audit Institutions.

01 · INTOSAI Framework

INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements

Professional Pronouncements

INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements are the formal and authoritative announcements or declarations of the INTOSAI Community. They draw on the collective professional expertise of INTOSAI's members and provide INTOSAI's official statements on audit-related matters.

All the pronouncements are organized and numbered according to their status and purpose in a single framework.

INTOSAI Framework of Professional Pronouncements

The INTOSAI Framework of Professional Pronouncements (IFPP) contains three categories of professional pronouncements.

02 · Foundational Principles

The INTOSAI Principles

INTOSAI-P

The INTOSAI Principles consist of founding principles and core principles. The founding principles have historical significance and specify the role and functions, which SAIs should aspire to.

These principles may be informative to Governments and Parliaments, as well as SAIs and the wider public and may be used as reference in establishing national mandates for SAIs.

The core principles support the founding principles by providing guidance for SAIs on their role in society, as well as high-level prerequisites for proper functioning and professional conduct.

INTOSAI Framework

The INTOSAI Framework of Professional Pronouncements (IFPP) contains three categories of professional pronouncements.

03 · International Standards

The International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions

ISSAI

The ISSAIs are the authoritative international standards on public sector auditing. The purpose of the ISSAIs is to:

  • ensure the quality of the audits conducted;
  • strengthen the credibility of the audit reports for users;
  • enhance transparency of the audit process;
  • specify the auditor's responsibility in relation to other parties involved;
  • define the different types of audit engagements and the related set of concepts that provides a common language for public sector auditing.

The full set of ISSAIs is based on a basic set of concepts and principles that defines public sector auditing and the different types of engagements supported by the ISSAIs.

04 · Practical Guidance

The INTOSAI Guidance

GUID

The guidance is developed by INTOSAI in order to support the SAI and individual auditors in applying the professional framework in practice.

  • How to apply the ISSAIs in practice in the financial, performance or compliance audit processes;
  • How to apply the ISSAIs in practice in other engagements;
  • Understanding a specific subject matter and the application of the relevant ISSAIs.

Explore the INTOSAI framework

Learn more about the professional pronouncements, principles, standards and guidance that support public-sector auditing.

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