Launched in 2016, the Internal Control Working Group (ICWG) looks at the role of internal audit and the central harmonization unit (CHU) in the assessment and development of public internal control. Areas of focus include the COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission) Framework principles of effective internal control and their application in the public sector context, and challenges in internal control implementation in the public sector. The ICWG held its last face-to-face meeting in October 2019, before the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the ICWG has been working on different knowledge products. The latest “Assessing the Effectiveness of Internal Control: PEMPAL Guidance for Public Sector Internal Auditors” was published recently and will be presented during the SIT.
This SIT of the ICWG will provide an update on the overall progress achieved so far in the working group and will discuss challenges and good practices in the implementation of internal control in the context of the ongoing pandemic. Country experiences will be presented with insights from the World Bank and the European Commission. Participants will have an opportunity to share their experience and discuss in breakout groups the CHU role in coordinating the internal control response during the pandemic, providing an opportunity to discuss practicalities following from good practice frameworks. Breakout discussions will be reported back to the larger group and provide a basis for developing a knowledge product on public sector internal control during the pandemic.
