Closing ceremony of the 8th Meeting of the INTOSAI Working Group on Big Data

Delegates from 24 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) and international organizations shared practical experiences, outstanding achievements, and challenges faced in applying big data to auditing.

The diversity and richness of the presentations, along with the contributions from the delegates, helped the Meeting achieve many positive results and opened new avenues for the application of big data and advanced technologies in auditing. The success of the 8th Meeting was contributed to by all SAIs, fostering a robust international cooperative environment where ideas and initiatives could be shared and developed.

Dr. John Yee from the U.S. Government Accountability Office expressed his honor and pride in delivering the closing remarks, thanking SAV for hosting the event thoughtfully. He also thanked the head of the INTOSAI WGBD, the Chinese National Audit Office (CNAO), for their effort in making this meeting an annual event, as well as all the SAIs for their full participation.

"I am delighted to meet all the SAIs for our common goals and interests. Although we come from different countries with diverse environments and circumstances, we share a common goal of improving and enhancing the effectiveness of auditing," Dr. John Yee remarked.
 

According to the representative from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, we are living in a world of big data but have yet to fully focus on it, while the scale of data continues to grow and its complexity becomes increasingly sophisticated. As a result, all SAIs face new challenges and opportunities.

In particular, we are transitioning to a cloud era with unprecedented challenges ahead, such as data security, data privacy, higher computational power, and enhanced analytical skills. To address these challenges and seize new opportunities, we should prepare thoroughly for the coming years by collaboratively building appropriate plans and solutions, Dr. John Yee advised.

Providing a more detailed analysis of the challenges, Dr. Yee noted that in the private sector, the pace of development in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is extremely rapid. Consequently, federal and state government agencies are increasingly adopting AI and machine learning systems to improve operational performance. "We believe this new wave will be stronger in the near future. Clearly, all SAIs will receive more auditing requests related to AI and machine learning," he raised the issue.

Moreover, most AI and machine learning systems involve internal black box models, making it challenging for auditors to audit AI systems related to data collection, understanding hidden models, and the reluctance of technology providers to disclose detailed information about their models due to proprietary concerns.

Another challenge arises from the fact that SAIs lack sufficient auditing guidelines, as auditing AI and machine learning differs significantly from traditional auditing in several aspects, such as approaches, methodologies, data availability, performance testing, and validation. Therefore, all SAIs need to develop appropriate auditing guidelines.

Furthermore, the use cases for auditing AI and machine learning will vary depending on the type of AI and machine learning systems being audited, based on the system's purposes, modifications, operational environment, computing environment, compliance, and regulations of each country.

All SAIs will therefore benefit from sharing what we have done to quickly address global auditing challenges. We should collaborate to overcome these challenges with a more reasonable approach and direction, Dr. John Yee emphasized.

At the Meeting, the representative from the U.S. Government Accountability Office urged all SAI members of the INTOSAI WGBD to collaborate and propose practical ideas, thoughts, suggestions, or proposals to move forward together.

Dr. John Yee believes that the annual conferences of the INTOSAI WGBD will serve as an excellent platform for all of us to share knowledge, experiences, and practical applications from our respective SAIs, and he is confident that all SAIs will continue their efforts and contributions to enhance international cooperation on this issue.

*According to the program, on the afternoon of September 11, delegates will visit VinUni to get insight of the big data research projects at VinUni and tour the university's campus and facilities supporting researches as well as implementation of the big data projects. Through this experience, delegates will witness the vision and robust investment of the Vingroup in education and scientific research.

This experience will provide valuable knowledge and inspire new ideas to promote mutual learning opportunities, explore modern technological advancements, and gain deeper insights into the ongoing development of information technology and digital transformation in Viet Nam.