Republic of Tunisia
International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)
The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is a non-governmental organisation with special consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It comprises 195 full members, 5 associate members and 2 affiliate members.
Since its establishment in 1953, the organisation has provided an institutional framework for the transfer and exchange of knowledge to improve external public-finance auditing internationally, increase professional effectiveness and strengthen the standing of SAIs in their respective countries. True to its motto, “Mutual experience benefits all”, the exchange of experience and knowledge among members ensures the continued development of SAIs.
Since joining the organisation at the Madrid Congress in 1974, the Court of Audit has sought to be an active member and regularly participates in the INTOSAI Congress, the organisation’s highest body.
The Congress is composed of all member SAIs and is organised every three years under the chairmanship of the SAI of the host country. The most recent Congress (the 25th International Congress) was held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 27 to 31 October 2025. The Egyptian SAI currently chairs the organisation for 2025-2028.
The Court of Audit has earned the respect and esteem of its peers through its active involvement in the organisation’s structures. It was first elected to the INTOSAI Governing Board at the Seoul Congress in 2001 and served until 2007. As a Governing Board member and an active participant in technical committees—particularly through its membership of the Compliance Audit Subcommittee since its creation in 2004 and of the Forum for INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements (FIPP) to this day—the Court of Audit acquired expertise enabling it to closely follow developments in international audit practice. Through its contribution to international audit standards and its own audit manuals, the Court laid the foundations for a documented and participatory audit process.
The Court of Audit’s current participation in INTOSAI working groups is particularly important, notably in the Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and Key Sustainable Development Indicators and the Working Group on Audit of Public Procurement Contracts. This membership enables the Court to follow the latest international trends in public-policy evaluation and link them to the SDGs, while developing public-procurement audit methods consistent with international standards.
International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions with Jurisdictional Competence (JURISAI)
The Court of Audit’s membership of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions with Jurisdictional Competence (JURISAI) demonstrates its active engagement in specialised professional forums for cooperation on shared interests. This includes its participation in the Commission of Prosecutors and Crown Counsel, the Capacity Development Commission and the Finance, Administration and Communication Commission. It enables the Court to contribute to the development of jurisdictional practice alongside the organisation’s 33 member SAIs.
At the 25th INCOSAI Congress, JURISAI was formally admitted as an INTOSAI affiliate organisation. Its headquarters were established in Rabat, and the Court of Accounts of the Kingdom of Morocco was elected to head JURISAI’s General Secretariat.
Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI)
The Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI) was founded in 1976 in accordance with decisions of the presidents of member SAIs at the founding assembly in Cairo. Its work was initially organised under framework and organisational notes drawn up in 1976, later replaced by its General Statute, approved at the Arab organisation’s third Congress in Tunis in 1983.
All SAIs of countries belonging to the League of Arab States are ARABOSAI members. Its objectives include encouraging the exchange of ideas, views and experience among member institutions and promoting studies and research in financial auditing while developing auditing in scientific and practical terms. ARABOSAI’s structure consists of the General Assembly, meeting every three years, and the General Secretariat, held by the Tunisian Court of Audit under a General Assembly decision of 1983. In addition to administrative and financial duties, the General Secretariat prepares and follows up the organisation’s various meetings, programmes and training activities.
The most recent General Assembly (the 15th) was held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the end of 2025.
The Court of Audit belongs to working groups established within ARABOSAI. The technical and logistical support it has provided to this regional international organisation over half a century has had a positive effect on good-governance values in the Arab public sector. The Court currently chairs the Capacity Development Commission and is also a member of the Professional Pronouncements Commission and several working groups, including the Information Technology Audit Committee, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Audit Committee and the editorial committee of the Arab Journal of Financial Auditing.
African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI)
The African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI) was established in 1976 in response to recommendations of the international organisation’s Congress held in Madrid in 1974. AFROSAI’s founding General Assembly was held in Cameroon in November 1976. The General Secretariat was entrusted to Togo’s SAI until 2005 and then to Libya’s SAI until December 2024. At the 16th General Assembly in Tripoli, Libya, in December 2024, Morocco’s SAI was elected to hold the General Secretariat and host the organisation’s permanent headquarters. The permanent headquarters agreement was formally signed in April 2025 by the Kingdom of Morocco and AFROSAI.
The organisation brings together SAIs from 54 African countries. AFROSAI holds a General Assembly every three years to approve its reports and renew its governing bodies. The Tunisian Court of Audit has been a member since 1976 and was elected to its Executive Committee in 1999, serving until 2007.
The Court of Audit’s participation in AFROSAI’s structures expanded in 2025 through membership of the Institutional and Technical Capacity Support Commission and the Organisational Capacity Support Commission, alongside participation in the Journal Editorial Commission. This confirms its commitment to building SAI capacity across the continent, sharing best practice and helping produce and disseminate specialist knowledge, while enhancing the Court’s regional reach and establishing its presence in African professional networks.
Association of Supreme Audit Institutions Sharing the Use of French (AISCCUF)
The international association of French-speaking SAIs held its founding Congress in Paris on 22 September 1994, and the Court of Audit has been a member since its creation. The Court has sat on its Executive Board since the 2001 General Assembly in Paris and held the second vice-presidency from 2001 to 2005. The association currently comprises around forty French-speaking SAIs and is one of 16 institutional networks under the auspices of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). The association’s Board adopted the Brussels Declaration on 18 March 2024, committing the association to five major priorities: strengthening participation in the Francophonie ecosystem, welcoming new SAIs, training young auditors, supporting member SAIs that are not represented in INTOSAI, and strengthening relations with citizens and civil society. For 2025-2028, the presidency was entrusted to Djibouti’s SAI, while the Tunisian Court of Audit became second vice-president.
INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI)
The INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) supports capacity building among members of the international organisation by designing and implementing long-term training and support programmes and international partnerships involving training and practical activities in core areas of public-finance audit.
The Court of Audit has participated in many training activities organised by IDI. Several Court magistrates have also served as trainers in activities for SAIs in Arab and African countries. Since 2005, a Court magistrate has held the position of programme director for the initiative’s work with SAIs in Arab and French-speaking African countries.
As an IDI partner, the Court has participated in numerous capacity-development programmes, enabling several magistrates to qualify as experts or trainers/facilitators and enhancing the institution’s international standing.
Through its engagement in these initiatives, the Court aims to consolidate its institutional and leadership capacity and ensure sustainable performance in line with international standards and best practice. Its active participation demonstrates a commitment to stronger internal governance, improved performance and adaptation to institutional and technical change, enabling it to exercise its audit role effectively and independently and achieve its strategic objectives.
The latest initiatives joined by the Court are:
- Strategic Planning, Performance Measurement and Reporting initiative (SPMR): The Tunisian Court of Audit joined the IDI’s SPMR initiative in 2019 to help SAIs develop strategic planning and performance-measurement capacity and improve evaluation and reporting mechanisms. It enabled the Court to prepare a new strategic plan for 2022–2026 based on three main pillars: establishing fair and effective financial justice; strengthening citizens’ trust in the Court through communication and openness; and helping embed transparency and accountability in the public sector.
- Digital governance initiative (pICTure): This initiative aims to enable SAIs to govern their technological resources and services effectively and securely. In a period of rapid digital transformation, it is a useful tool for the Court of Audit’s digitalisation and modernisation of working methods. Several institutions in the Arab region joined in 2024: Tunisia, Palestine, Egypt, the Sultanate of Oman and Sudan. The Court assessed its digital maturity using the SAI_ITMA assessment tool in order to establish an integrated technology strategy, improve information security and strengthen the digital skills of all its staff.
- Human-resource governance initiative (TOGETHER): The Court joined this initiative as part of its continuing efforts to introduce improvements needed for high-quality, effective work. Participation enabled an integrated diagnosis of human-resource management, recorded in a report containing all the fundamental observations identified by the review team in relation to the requirements of the ten dimensions of the value chain in this area. The team examined the situation against the maturity levels presented by the initiative’s organisers. The main opportunity for improvement lay in strategic human-resource management, making this value-chain dimension a priority for the next stage of review. It is also important to strengthen skills and performance management through a Court-wide approach that monitors and evaluates needs and expectations and sets objectives and performance indicators against which skills can be assessed and developed. On the basis of the integrated diagnosis and its recommendations for closing identified gaps, priority recommendations were examined against objective criteria, including their fit with the Court’s general and specific context, their cost and their expected impact on the Court’s work and results.
- Strategic leadership and risk management initiative (CRISP): This initiative develops leadership skills within SAIs, with particular emphasis on risk management and forward planning. It aims to strengthen leaders’ ability to adapt to future changes and challenges and ensure long-term institutional sustainability. It forms part of IDI’s efforts to build audit institutions capable of leading change and making a positive impact on their environment.
Bilateral cooperation
Bilateral cooperation agreements with friendly and sister institutions
(Historical overview and prospects for bilateral cooperation)
The Tunisian Court of Audit’s engagement beyond its own institution has not been limited to INTOSAI and regional organisations. For several years it has developed close bilateral relations with many supreme audit institutions, including the French Court of Accounts, the Netherlands Court of Audit, the United Kingdom’s National Audit Office and the Portuguese Court of Accounts. These examples illustrate the diversity and depth of cooperation established during almost sixty years of institutional experience. More recently, cooperation agreements were signed with the Libyan and Saudi SAIs, opening new prospects for exchange and partnership.
French Court of Accounts
The Tunisian Court of Audit has long-standing cooperation and exchange with its French counterpart dating from the early 1970s. This has included regular visits by officials of the two Courts (the most recent being the visit of Mr Philippe Séguin, First President, in March 2008 for the Tunisian Court’s 40th anniversary); a training programme for magistrates and registrars, together with study and information visits; and regular exchanges of documents, including the Tunisian Court’s receipt of the “Article 15” newsletter and public reports of the French Court of Accounts.
Among notable exchanges, the Sousse Regional Chamber hosted French experts in June and July 2009 to assess judicial audit as part of its twinning with the Rhône-Alpes Regional Chamber. In February 2009, the Tunisian Court of Audit hosted an ordinary meeting of the Tunisian and French Courts under the high patronage of the presidents of both institutions. Devoted to the Court’s role in the public-finance audit system, the meeting led to the signing of a twinning agreement between the Gafsa and Lorraine Regional Chambers.
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Close cooperation with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, the Auditor General of Quebec and the Canadian Comprehensive Auditing Foundation dates back to the early 1980s. It focused mainly on ten-month theoretical and practical training placements for about a dozen magistrates (1989–2002) and participation by the Auditors General of Canada and Quebec, several experts and the Canadian foundation in scientific and professional events organised by the Court of Audit (training workshops, seminars and forums).
Netherlands Court of Audit
The Tunisian Court of Audit began cooperating with the Netherlands Court of Audit (NCA) in 2009 under a twinning arrangement funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs that ended in 2014. Since 2022, cooperation has been renewed and expanded under the Sharaka II programme (2022–2026), involving seven SAIs from the MENA region.
The main aim is to promote good governance and strengthen public management in Tunisia and the Netherlands through shared strategies and working methods. Sharaka II focuses on parallel performance audits of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities, 2022–2023), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 13 (climate action, 2024–2025).
Cooperation adapted to health restrictions through virtual exchanges and webinars. Notable activities under the initial programme included a scientific meeting in April 2013 on the integrity self-assessment system; implementation of the diagnostic phase of information technology auditing in July 2013; and preparation of pilot missions to establish a quality-control system for audit missions.
Universities and higher education institutions
Faculty of Law of Sfax
The Tunisian Court of Audit has an academic and scientific cooperation relationship with the Faculty of Law of Sfax to develop university research on public-finance audit, transparency and good governance. The collaboration aims to encourage exchanges between magistrates and academics, promote specialised training and strengthen the link between judicial practice and higher education.