Good practices for real-time auditing of the management of the COVID-19 pandemic
Carlos Miguel Gómez Márquez
Académico de la Academia Mexicana de Auditoría al Desempe?o
By Carlos Miguel Gómez Márquez
?“It is in the crisis that inventiveness, discoveries and great strategies are born.
Whoever overcomes the crisis overcomes himself without being overcome”.
Albert Einstein
1.??The government response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the epidemic caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus a global public health emergency, urging governments to adopt containment measures, such as active surveillance. ; early detection; isolation and case management; tracking contacts, and preventing the spread of the virus. [1]/
The speed and impact of the pandemic has required a timely response by governments, which has led to the implementation of actions "on the fly" that could lead to non-compliance with regulations; the inefficient use of resources, and the lack of transparency and accountability, which is why, today more than ever, the role of Supreme Audit Institutions as safeguards of the public interest, through their audit work, is of vital importance.
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2.??The Value of Real-Time Auditing: Watchdogs in Action
The institutional symbol of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the United States is the “watchdog”, a vigilant guardian of government action. By way of analogy, the rapid response that governments around the world have had to give to the pandemic has highlighted the need for Supreme Audit Institutions to assume the role of a jealous watchdog, constantly alert to the actions taken in the face of the virus, in order to intervene in a timely manner.
In this context, the "real-time" or "concurrent" audit is one that is characterized by being carried out simultaneously, at the same time or shortly after public resources are exercised and actions government are instrumented.
Currently, there are Supreme Audit Institutions in which the legal framework empowers them to audit in real time, whose most emblematic case, recognized as good practice by EUROSAI, is that of the Federal Republic of Germany's Court of Accounts, which, in addition to its review functions, it also has an advisory role, since it performs audits in real time to monitor government programs, from their inception to their conclusion. The goal is to provide professional advice and monitor the success of programs, rather than simply pointing out shortcomings after the facts. [2]/
Among the most relevant examples of real-time auditing for SARS-CoV-2, the cases of the GAO and the Court of Accounts of the Union of Brazil (TCU) stand out.
The GAO has sought to provide Congress with a “snapshot” of the Federal Government's efforts to address the economic and public health impacts of the pandemic. .[3]/??In its bimonthly report on the implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Law, published in November, the GAO made relevant observations and recommendations regarding the availability of medical supplies; development of vaccines and therapies; test application, and unemployment insurance [4]/
On the other hand, the TCU developed the Special Action Follow-up Plan to Combat COVID-19, in order to detect the occurrence of risks, failures or diversion of resources destined to respond to the crisis [5]/?Likewise, in its latest report, published in December, the TCU provided support and supervision to the emergency support that has been granted to address the crisis and other actions related to social assistance. .[6]/
Thus, the two examples described above constitute good practices to be valued by Supreme Audit Institutions, since they would allow them to enhance their role in the supervision and support of government programs, as well as in detecting the misuse of strategic resources.
3. Addressing the whole elephant: the need for a comprehensive approach to auditing the response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus
Six blind wise men wanted to know what an elephant was. Each of them touched a part of the animal and came to a different conclusion: the one who touched its back believed it to be a wall, the one who took its tail determined that it was a rope, the one who felt its tusk thought it was a spear, the one who tripped over his leg concluded that it was a column, and thus, partially right, they were all wrong.
Like this parable, the oversight of the government response to SARS-CoV-2 requires a comprehensive approach, in order to address all those critical aspects that must be audited before, during and after the pandemic, from the spheres economic and social. To this end, the Supreme Audit Institutions should promote an audit strategy for the practice of financial and performance audits focused on the following key risk areas:
???Governance and leadership in the face of the pandemic.
??Communication with the public about the measures adopted in the face of the emergency and intergovernmental coordination.
???Acquisitions of critical and essential medical supplies.
???Operation of the hospital infrastructure for patients care.
???Emerging subsidies and other support aimed at mitigating the economic effects of the pandemic.
? ??Reopening measures for the return to economic activities.
? ??Acquisition of vaccine doses and timely application of them.
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SOURCES
Government Accountability Office. (2020). Coronavirus Oversight. Retrieved from:
Government Accountability Office. (2020). GAO Cites Need for More Transparency Around Vaccine Development and Testing, in Unemployment Numbers, and the Urgent Need to Address Medical Supply Shortages in New CARES Act Report.
Retrieved from:
Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions of Europe. (2015). Sharing good practices among Supreme Audit Institutions. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
World Health Organization. (2020). Statement on the second meeting of the Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations (2005) about the outbreak of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Retrieved on December 9, 2020, from:
Tribunal de Cuentas de la Unión. (2020). The processing of emergency aid has an undue inclusion and exclusion of people. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
Tribunal de Cuentas de la Unión. (2020). Plan of Acompanhamento das A??es de Combate à COVID-19 stimulates or preventive control. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
[1]/??World Health Organization. (2020). Statement on the second meeting of the Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations (2005) about the new coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV). Retrieved on December 9, 2020, from:
?????https://www.who.int/es/news/item/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)
[2]/???Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions of Europe. (2015). Sharing good practices among Supreme Audit Institutions. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
?????https://www.nku.gov.sk/documents/10272/1273416/5.+EUROSAI+Innovations+volume+III.pdf/5252d2ef-0ba5-46ac-abc8-02bd8edfbb52
[3]/??Government Accountability Office. (2020). GAO Cites Need for More Transparency Around Vaccine Development and Testing, in Unemployment Numbers, and the Urgent Need to Address Medical Supply Shortages in New CARES Act Report. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
?????https://www.gao.gov/about/press-center/press-releases/need_for_transparency_2020.htm
[4]/??Government Accountability Office. (2020). Coronavirus Oversight. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
?????https://www.gao.gov/coronavirus/
[5]/??Tribunal de Cuentas de la Unión. (2020). Plan of Acompanhamento das A??es de Combate à COVID-19 stimulates or preventive control. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
?????https://portal.tcu.gov.br/imprensa/noticias/plano-de-acompanhamento-das-acoes-de-combate-a-covid-19-estimula-o-controle-preventivo.htm
[6]/??Tribunal de Cuentas de la Unión. (2020). The processing of emergency aid has an undue inclusion and exclusion of people. Retrieved on December 7, 2020, from:
?????https://portal.tcu.gov.br/es/imprensa/noticias/el-procesamiento-de-la-ayuda-de-emergencia-tiene-una-inclusion-y-exclusion-indebida-de-personas.htm