April 12, 2023
Dear Members of the Assembly,
On 17 February, a letter was distributed to the OSCE PA Bureau calling for an audit of
functions. Based on the discussions and information received since then, we would like to
clarify the purpose of the audit and invite additional members to sign our letter.
In precise terms, we call for the OSCE PA to commission a performance audit. This is an audit
which examines whether there could be improvements to the economy, efficiency and
effectiveness of our administrative organization. It should be noted that the annual financial
audit only evaluates the financial statements and that a performance audit has never been made
in the Parliamentary Assembly. The performance audit would look at the budget and overall
structures in order to provide recommendations which are to the benefit of the organization as
a whole. It should be conducted in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme
Audit Institutions (ISSAI).
The governmental side of the OSCE, like other international organizations and parliamentary
assemblies, performs both financial and performance audits on a regularly scheduled basis. We
believe that it is our duty to ensure that the OSCE PA follows practice on this matter. As OSCE
Parliamentarians, we should always have the people who have elected us in mind and be able
to bring back the message that the financial contribution of each parliament is being used
wisely.
A performance audit would help assure that the OSCE PA is the strongest and most efficient
organization that it could possibly be. Our mission has never been as important as it is today,
when facing the Russian Federation’s war in Ukraine and the outright attack on our common
security that it constitutes. For that very reason, we need to utilize all possible instruments to
strengthen the Parliamentary Assembly. A performance audit is one of the most powerful tools
at our disposal.
By implementing a performance audit, we are together taking action to make the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly even stronger and more robust. We are therefore inviting additional
members to sign our letter.
Please find letter from 17 February attached.
To:
All members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly through Secretaries of Delegations.
Copy:
OSCE PA International Secretariat (for information).
Signatories:
Bulgaria
Mr. Stanislav Anastassov
Canada
Hon. Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P.
Hon. Peter Boehm, Senator