Budgets that are not credible or implemented as intended affect the delivery of essential services, undermining progress in addressing poverty and inequality, increasing risks of corruption and eroding trust in institutions.
Supreme Audit Institutions audit public budgets and government programmes to ensure that they are transparent and effective. They provide independent evidence on the strengths of and opportunities for enhancing fiscal systems for SDG implementation.
External audits have identified the need to strengthen fiscal legal frameworks, enhance public debt management and financial reporting, information and disclosure, and improve fiscal sustainability to better support national development priorities.
Supreme Audit Institutions have recommended aligning budget processes with national planning, strengthening the links between national goals, actions and resource allocations, and incorporating sustainability into public budgets.
Audits in areas such as climate change, the environment, and gender provide opportunities to strengthen the synergies between public finance and performance audits and to link fiscal oversight with national priorities and the SDGs.