Madam First President emphasizes the importance of placing the exercise of jurisdictional competencies within the context of public action.

Speaking at the closing of an international conference recently organized by the French Court of Accounts, on the occasion of the constitutive General Assembly of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions with jurisdictional functions (JURISAI), under the theme ” Auditors and judges: supreme audit institutions that make decisions “.  Mrs. Zineb EL ADAOUI, the First President of the Court of Accounts, highlighted the importance of situating the exercise of jurisdictional competencies within the broader context of public action. She stated that Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) must seek to achieve the right balance between sanctioning and preserving managers’ capacities for innovation and risk-taking.

She added that SAIs must also take into account the increasing complexity of decision-making processes among auditees, and be diligent regarding the dilution of responsibility and the individualization of punishment, as well as evolving their approaches to consider the circumstances and causes behind the violations observed.

Madam First President also highlighted the challenges that the power to make jurisdictional decisions imposes on SAIs with this responsibility, as well as the normative, operational, and organizational implications that arise from it. She stressed the necessity of a rigorous and clear institutional separation between the functions of auditor and judge, the importance of a coordinated strategic plan aimed at creating synergies between jurisdictional and non- jurisdictional functions, and the institutionalization of effective coordination and communication channels between audits and jurisdictional work carried out by the SAIs.

She also emphasized, in this context, the dual challenge of professionalizing the judge-auditor role that SAIs with control and accountability functions face. with all that this implies in terms of human capital management mechanisms, quality assurance actions, and efforts to safeguard against the dichotomy of professions and duality of careers, while maintaining a balance between specialization and the preservation of the common identity foundation of their members.

This event, organized in collaboration with the Association for the International Foundation of Public Finance (FONDAFIP), brought together prominent figures, including presidents and senior officials from SAIs, as well as experts, academics, and researchers.