Building competencies and capacities for auditing and assurance of sustainability reporting in the public sector

Ms. Archana Shirsat is a Deputy Director General at INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) based in Oslo, Norway. IDI is an INTOSAI ( International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions) body that works towards independent, credible and sustainable  Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) for better societies and improved lives (www.idi.no). 

Within IDI, she is a part of the leadership team and heads the Professional and Relevant SAIs  department. Her department leads IDI’s work with professional competency development, audit leadership development, sustainable SAI audit practices and demonstrating impact to enhance public trust in SAIs. This also includes promoting and supporting professional audit practices in trending areas such as SDGs, technology and AI, equality & inclusion, climate action, public debt and  sustainability reporting in the public sector. Archana is a member of Forum for INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements (FIPP) which is a part of the standard setting mechanism for public sector audit standards.  

Helga Berger has been a member of the European Court of Auditors ‘ECA) since 2020. Initially involved in the audit of Financing and Administration, she moved to the audit of Investment for Cohesion, Growth and Inclusion in 2022, overseeing among others the Cohesion, Resilience and Values chapter in the Annual Report and the 2023 report on public procurement in the EU.

In March 2024, she became Chair of the ECA’s Chamber for Quality Control and Chair of the INTOSAI Professional Standards Committee leading the efforts to provide relevant, robust and clear professional standards and guidance for all Supreme Audit Institutions. 

Since December 2022, she has also chaired the Board of Auditors of the ESM. 

Previously, she served at the Austrian Court of Audit, as Director General for Budget in the Ministry of Finance, and as a judge. She has over 25 years of experience in public finance.
 

Auditor General Mr. Hussain Niyazy is a public audit professional with extensive experience in finance, accounting and audit. He is a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) who counts over 20 years of service experience at the Auditor General’s Office (AGO).

Mr. Hussain Niyazy started his career in the AGO, formerly the Maldives Audit Office as an Accounting Officer Trainee in 1997. Since then, he has shown a genuine interest in the field and has contributed immensely to the development and strengthening of public audit and public financial management systems in the country.

He played a vital role in the establishment and development of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Maldives (CA Maldives) in which he Previously filled the position of the President. He currently contributes globally as a Board Member of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) and as the Vice Chair of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA).

Prior to his appointment as the Auditor General, he led the Financial Audit Division as the Assistant Auditor General and presides over the regulation of the private sector audit profession. He was the Chair of the Licensing and Disciplinary Committee of the Auditor General – till the formation of CA Maldives – and the Chair of the Admission and Licensing Committee of CA Maldives till his appointment as the Auditor General.
 

Jane Meade serves as Group Executive Director within the Professional Services Group (PSG) and is a member of the ANAO’s Executive Board of Management. Since joining the ANAO in February 2016, Jane Meade has played a key role in supporting the Auditor-General, focusing on the application of professional standards, maintaining the quality assurance framework, and managing external relationships.

Before joining the ANAO, Jane Meade was the National Technical Partner at RSM Australia. Jane Meade has also held senior positions at Tower Australia Limited and Deloitte, including serving as Client Director in both the Professional Standards Review and National Assurance and Advisory Services groups.

Jane Meade holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and an Executive Fellow of ANSZOG. Jane Meade is a member of the Forum for INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements (FIPP) and previously served on the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB).
 

Dr Sutthi Suntharanurak serves as Inspector General at the State Audit Office of Thailand and the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) Secretariat. With more than 27 years of professional experience in public sector auditing, he has been leading initiatives to strengthen sustainability reporting and assurance within Supreme Audit Institutions of Thailand. His current work focuses on developing national guidance for sustainability assurance engagements aligned with international frameworks such as ISAE 3000, GRI Standards and INTOSAI GUIDs, with the aim of enhancing transparency, accountability and public value in environmental governance.

Deirdre Quaid is one of three Directors of Audit in the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, SAI Ireland, having joined as a trainee auditor in 2005. She represented Ireland on the audit commission of the European Space Agency based in Paris for four years. She has a Master of Accounting from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and is a fellow of the Chartered Accountants Ireland and a member of the Irish Tax Institute. As Director of Audit, she is responsible for all performance audits across the Irish public and civil service and several financial audits. She is also the Chair secretariat of the INTOSAI Performance Audit Subcommittee since 2022, responsible for maintaining the performance audit standards. 

Alan Findlay is a senior administrator at the European Court of Auditors (ECA) and works for its Quality Control Committee. During his long career at the ECA, Alan has audited most EU policy areas. The ECA is currently Chair of the INTOSAI Professional Standards Committee and Alan is currently mainly in supporting its secretariat and looking after its four subcommittees.

Alan has previously worked for the European Parliament in Luxembourg and in local government in the UK as an internal auditor and accountant. He has degrees from the universities of Stirling and Leicester, and is a Member and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in the United Kingdom.
 

Cecile Bonino is Chief of Staff at IFAC, and also bridges global organizations' relationship, policy support, event strategy, and brand visibility. A strategic affairs and communications leader at the intersection of policy, regulation, and global advocacy, she drives global public relations initiatives to elevate the global accountancy profession and strengthen its influence. A lawyer by education, Cecile has over 20 years of experience in public affairs and public relations. Prior to joining IFAC, Cecile worked for 13 years at ACCA, where she headed EU Affairs and the ACCA Brussels office, working with European decision and policymakers, global organizations, media and key influencers. In 2012, Cécile won the “Public Affairs Professional of the Year” prize at the European Public Affairs Awards.

Alex is Senior Advisor with the IPSASB, supported by World Bank funding, to develop a public sector reporting standard focused on climate-related disclosures.

Previously, Alex worked at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), where he led the global accountancy body’s public sector strategy. He concluded his tenure at ACCA with an internal secondment to the Strategy Leadership Team. In this role, he developed the organization’s sustainability strategy, increased the maturity of its net zero approach, and produced the organization’s ISSB implementation roadmap. Earlier in his career, Alex worked across central, provincial and local government in the UK and Canadian civil service, including as a Senior Economist - specializing in tax policy - at the Ontario Ministry of Finance.

Alex is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). He studied at Oxford, Cambridge and Queen's universities.
 

Paul is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. 

Paul is a Partner at Forvis Mazars where he focusses on Public Policy & Regulation (both in the UK and globally) and Sustainability Reporting & Assurance. He represents the firm externally at the Forum of Firms and EGIAN, as well as at regulatory and standard setting roundtables. He is the firm’s Global Leader for IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and a member of the global sustainability assurance methodology team.

He has over 30 years of experience in the audit profession, with the first 20 years as a public sector auditor. He is a member of the Consultative Advisory Group of IPSASB and of the Practitioner Advisory Group of the International Non-Profit Accounting Standards project.
 

Bailey has served as the Partner leading KPMG’s Public Sector Accounting Advisory service line for Canada since 2015 and has more than 25 years of experience advising the public sector on complex accounting and reporting matters. Bailey leads KPMG’s Public Sector ESG Centre of Expertise, and the Global International Public Sector Accounting Standards Working Group. Bailey is driving KPMG’s response to IPSASB’s climate disclosures and tangible natural resources standards, and collaborations with governments around the world to prepare for voluntary implementation. 

Bailey has worked with more than 300 governments on sustainability reporting for climate and biodiversity. Through his work Bailey has developed adaptations of the International Sustainability Standards Board guidance specific to the public sector.

Bailey is a board member of the Natural Assets Initiative. Bailey led the collaborations between KPMG, the Natural Assets Initiative, and the Intact Centre on Climate Change, and more than 50 industry partners to develop a voluntary disclosure framework designed to align with the Taskforce on Nature Related Financial Disclosures.

Educational Background 

• NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, Executive Certificate in Advancing Sustainability (March 2022)
• Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2004
• CPA Ontario/ Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (appointed Fellow by CPA Ontario in 2024)
• BComm, Queens University – 1996
   

Connect with Bailey Church at KPMG in Canada.

Oscar Nuñez del Arco is a senior executive with more than 20 years of experience, leading multidisciplinary teams and projects in international companies and important government entities in private and public sector.

International consultant, university professor, speaker at national and international events, MBA in General Management, Master in Finance, Certified Public Accountant, Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management and International Certification of IFRS, IPSAS and GRI, among other studies.

Currently, he works as the General Director of General Direction of Public Accounting in Ministry of Finance in Peru; and also, as President of Accounting Standards Council.

He has acted as President of FOCAL (Foro de Contadurías Gubernamentales de América Latina) and will assume the presidency of the Regional Alliance for Sustainability Reports (ARL) from Latin America in 2026.
 

Karma Tenzin is Assistant Director General at the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), where he leads efforts to strengthen sustainable, high-quality, and impactful audit practices across Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). He oversees initiatives on Sustainable Audit Practices, Audit Quality Management Systems, and cooperative audits on critical themes such as the SDGs, climate action, and inclusion. Karma also spearheads IDI’s work on auditing sustainability reporting in the public sector and serves as a member of the IPSASB Sustainability Reference Group. He manages IDI’s collaboration with ASOSAI to advance regional capacity development.

Before joining IDI, Karma served for 13 years at SAI of Bhutan, where he held key roles as Assistant Auditor General, Head of the Policy and Planning Division, and a member secretary of the SAI Audit Committee. As a member of the Accounting and Auditing Standards Board of Bhutan (AASBB), Karma contributed significantly to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). He also chaired the Technical Working Committee of AASBB, guiding critical reforms in public sector financial reporting. Karma is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), United Kingdom.
 

Antonis is the Head of Audit and Assurance at ACCA’s Policy & Insights team. He leads ACCA’s global policy on audit and assurance matters, contributing to Policy & Insights publications and responses to consultations. Antonis engages at local and international level with key organisations – including the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and Accountancy Europe. 

Antonis previously served as a technical advisor of the IAASB and the IFAC SMP Advisory Group and is a member of the Audit and Assurance Policy Group at Accountancy Europe. Before joining ACCA, Antonis worked as an auditor for EY in London and the Channel Islands specialising in financial services. He also worked for KPMG in Cyprus.

Antonis holds an LLB (Hons) Law degree from the University of Essex, the CFA Certificate in ESG investing and is a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He is also a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus.
 

Fabienne Colignon became Chair of the Consultative Advisory Group (CAG) of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) in July 2023. Prior to her appointment as Chair of the IPSASB CAG, Fabienne was an active and experienced member of the CAG since 2016, and a regular observer of the IPSASB. 

Fabienne has extensive expertise in public sector accounting and reporting through her role with the French Public Sector Accounting Standard-Setter, Conseil de Normalisation des Comptes Publics (the CNoCP), a council body within the Ministry of Finance, since 2013. Prior to joining the CNoCP, Fabienne was an audit professional, and served as a Practice Fellow with the IFRS Interpretations Committee. Fabienne has closely followed the work of the IPSASB as a French representative for the EPSAS project for the European Commission and for the CNoCP.
 

Bonnie Ann Sirois is a Senior Public Sector Specialist at the World Bank Group, currently based in Monrovia, Liberia. Since joining the Bank in 2013, she has engaged in reform initiatives across the globe, focusing on public financial management, government digitization, and institutional strengthening. Bonnie has worked with ministries, audit institutions, and integrity bodies on initiatives including the IPSASB Sustainability Reporting Standards, the Pacific’s Foundational Accounting Skills Program, and the PULSAR program, and has authored publications on topics including accrual accounting and sovereign debt transparency. Before joining the Bank, Bonnie served as Deputy Chief Accountant at UNRWA and spent over 15 years providing advisory and assurance services to entities in the United States. Bonnie is a Certified Public Accountant in the United States and Australia.