The SAIs of Bulgaria and Romania will cooperate in the field of IT audit

The managements of the Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) and the Romanian Court of Accounts held an online meeting on 10th of May 2024, during which a cooperation agreement was signed between the two Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs).

The document was signed by Mrs. Goritsa Grancharova - Kozhareva, acting President of the BNAO, and the President of the Romanian Court of Accounts, Mr. Mihai Busuioc.

The online meeting was also attended by Mr Toshko Todorov, Vice President of the BNAO, Mr Emil Evlogiev and Prof. Georgi Ivanov – members of the BNAO, as well as other representatives from both institutions.

The Romanian Court of Accounts agreed to assist its Bulgarian colleagues in the phased introduction of IT audit in the BNAO audit work through the implementation of a combination of activities. Expert support will be provided for the preparation of an IT Audit Manual, conducting of trainings of employees and consultations regarding the implementation of a pilot IT audit in the BNAO. There are also plans for bilateral visits of experts.

Ms. Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva thanked Mr. Busuioc for responding to the BNAO request for providing expert assistance and cooperation regarding the introduction of IT audit in the BNAO.

For us, this is not just professional support, but also a friendly gesture at an important moment for the development of our institution. The world is changing rapidly in the new Digital Age and we need to adapt and change with it, we need to develop IT audit capacity in order to meet today's challenges and continue to add value to the stakeholders in the future, said Ms. Grancharova. I believe that the cooperation agreement that we are signing today will give new horizons for the development of the long-standing cooperation between our two institutions, she added.

We work very well with our colleagues from the Bulgarian National Audit Office. The cooperation agreement will give even wider opportunities for the development of our joint activities. We will share our practice in the IT audits, said Mr Busuioc. He extended an invitation to the BNAO management to visit Bucharest on the occasion of the celebration of the anniversary of 160 years since the establishment of the Romanian Court of Accounts, which will be celebrated in September this year.