AFROSAI-E Advances Good Governance at the Technical Conference 2024

The Road to Public Financial Excellence

From October 29 to November 1, 2024, Auditors General; Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) staff; Public sector financial leaders and experts from across Africa gathered in Pretoria, South Africa, for the 19th AFROSAI-E Technical Conference. The event, hosted by AFROSAI-E, a key pillar in African governance spotlighted the strides and future trends, strategies and desired actions essential to advance public sector accountability, financial governance, and sustainable professionalisation. This year’s theme emphasised not just adaptation but transformation—advancing a vision where every African nation thrives with competent, ethical professionals committed to transparency and impactful governance.

Driving Home Innovation and Strategic Progress

In her opening remarks, Meisie Nkau, CEO of AFROSAI-E, set the tone by underscoring the importance of fostering transparency in governance. The event highlighted key areas, including capacity building, quality audits, and strategies for impactful and relevant audits. Through rich sessions such as the Journey to Professionalisation led by Business unit leaders from the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA), and insightful discussions on implementing ISSAI 140, attendees explored frameworks that place citizen welfare at the heart of public sector auditing and accounting in Africa.

As part of AFROSAI-E’s 2025-2029 strategic direction, Wynand Wentzel outlined a “Theory of Change” roadmap, setting clear objectives for elevating audit quality and capacity development in the public sector. This focused approach not only advances AFROSAI-E’s capacity building efforts but also directly supports API’s mission to develop finance management professionals who are not only technically skilled but also adept at navigating competency and ethical challenges within the respective country jurisdictions.

A Unified Front for Sustainable Accountability

Throughout the conference, delegates engaged in dynamic discussions, addressing sustainability issues and charting a capacity-building roadmap to enhance effectiveness of national Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). The conference also tackled emerging topics like Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) audits and the value of digitalisation in audit processes, emphasizing a future-ready audit framework that considers climate change, digital advancements, and other cross-cutting concerns.

A Vision for Africa’s Public Sector – Gambia & Malawi Win Excellence Awards

Through events like this, AFROSAI-E and API underscore their commitment to a future where, African professionals lead with competence and integrity. As the conference closed with AFROSAI-E Awards of Excellence and take-home messages, a palpable sense of purpose filled the room. The SAI Gambia and SAI Malawi won the excellence awards on audit of donor funded projects.

Clear Consensus

The clear consensus: sustainable public sector governance isn’t just a goal; it’s a necessity. This technical gathering was more than a conference—it was a rallying point for African nations committed to accountability and a testament to the power of a united vision for an ethical, capable, and resilient African public sector.

About The API

The African Professionalisation Initiative is an independent non-profit organisation whose primary objective is to strengthen the capacity and knowledge base of accounting and auditing professionals in the African public sector to enhance accounting and auditing service delivery to the citizens of Africa.

Our Vision: An African public sector sustainably capacitated with competent, ethical and influential professionals who support accountability, transparency and good financial governance. Our Mission: Grow the capacity of public sector finance management professionals in the African public sector through high quality, relevant and future fit learning programmes.

The API Partner Organisations

The African Professionalisation Initiative is a partnership between the accountancy profession (represented by the Pan African Federation of Accountants (“PAFA”)), accountants general or their equivalent (African Association of Accountants General – “AAAG”)), and supreme audit institutions or courts of auditors (represented by the English (“AFROSAI-E”) and French (“CREFIAF”) language sub-groups of the African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (“AFROSAI”)).

API is not a PAO

The African Professionalisation Initiative (API) operates not as a Professional Accountancy Organisation (PAO), but as a facilitator and catalyst for the professionalisation of public sector accountants and auditors. This critical role accelerates accountability and transparency within the public sector. Consequently, it increases the number of professional accountants eligible for membership in national PAOs, thereby enhancing their effectiveness. This growth strengthens the accountancy profession at the national level through the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) on the continental level, and with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) on the international level.

The API Houses / Learning Programmes

As API embarks on this exciting Professionalisation journey, it remains steadfast in its mission to grow the capacity of public sector finance management professionals through high-quality, relevant, and future-fit learning programmes. The flexible, comprehensive learning programme offers a transformative educational experience designed to be completed in 12 to 18 months, empowering professionals to achieve their goals at their own pace, anywhere, and anytime.

Please choose below the house that works for you and drop us a mail – info@professionalisation.africa