4 February 2026 - As countries work to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), supreme audit institutions (SAIs) are emerging as critical partners in assessing countries’ public finance and the effectiveness of national policies for equity, climate action and preparedness on the SDGs.

The World Public Sector Report 2025, launched during a webinar event on 30 January, focuses on the crucial role that SAIs play in the implementation of the SDGs. It provides a global picture of SAIs’ contribution since 2016. 

The report also examines the work of SAIs in four policy areas: the preparedness of Governments to deliver the SDGs; budgets and public financial management; “leaving no one behind”; and climate action.

Since 2015, the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and SAIs have identified their contribution to SDG implementation as a strategic priority.

SAI’s expanded expertise on the SDGs has been driven by INTOSAI’s sustained and strategic commitment and operationalized through capacity building initiatives. SAIs in both developed and developing countries have conducted SDG-relevant work and the range of SDGs that have been covered has increased over time. 

Through their audits, SAIs often produce critical information on the effectiveness of policies and programmes related to the SDGs - insights that may otherwise be unavailable to Governments. Many audits have had tangible impacts, leading Governments to adjust their institutional mechanisms, policies and programmes. SAIs have also gradually increased their contribution to national SDG follow-up and review.

All these actions have contributed to strengthening national SDG implementation as well as follow-up and review systems, and ultimately to enhancing the capacity of parliaments and other national actors to provide effective oversight on sustainable development.

At the same time, the report also points to a gap in the use of the information produced by SAIs. Audit findings and recommendations have the potential to more directly inform national and international action.

While parliaments and governments are the primary beneficiaries of SAI’s insights, many other actors, including academia, think tanks, and United Nations country teams, could use the work of SAIs on SDG topics more systematically to inform their work.

Explore the report and the findings here: World Public Sector Report 2025