The contribution of internal auditing to public trust in corporate governance and financial reporting was discussed at IDB headquarters by the president of the Global Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), David A. Richards, at meetings with the chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board, the Executive Vice-President of the Bank and the Office of the Auditor General.
During Richards' visit, both organizations agreed to partner to promote the dissemination and improvement of internal auditing in Latin America and the Caribbean for increased transparency and governance. The Bank will develop this partnership with IIA affiliates in the region, in coordination with the World Bank.
Richards thanked the Bank for its continuous support to the IIA through the direct involvement of Bank staff in various IIA activities and highlighted IDB president Enrique V. Iglesias' participation as the keynote speaker during the 2001 International Conference of the IIA held in Buenos Aires.
The IDB's executive vice-president, Dennis Flannery, highlighted the importance of a strong internal audit function at the Bank, coupled with the work of the recently formed Office of Institutional Integrity. They both foster increased transparency, one by strengthening the institution's internal control structure and the other by enhancing the ethical climate of the institution.
Richards' visit was part of a scheduled Washington, D.C. tour including meetings with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the recently formed Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The IIA is a 100,000 member global professional organization with affiliates in more than 120 countries, including all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IIA administrates the professional certifications program and issues the standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing.
Other Bank participants in the meetings with Richards were Agustin García-López, Executive Director for Mexico and the Dominican Republic and chairman of the recently formed Audit Committee of the Board of Executive Directors, Elizabeth J. Folsom, the Bank's auditor general, and Fernando A. Fernandez, deputy auditor general and current president of the Washington DC Chapter of the IIA.