How to find an audit report by country

Last checked: 19 October 2026 · How audits work

Start with the country's supreme audit institution, not a news summary. INTOSAI maintains a member directory for national audit offices ¹. Search the office's report archive by audited body, programme and year. Then check Parliament for committee hearings and government responses. For later status, look for recommendation trackers, follow-up audits, court records and official investigations. The office name varies, including auditor-general, national audit office, court of accounts and audit service.

Topic: Finding primary public audit records
Directory: INTOSAI member institutions
Last checked: 19 October 2026

Global starting point

INTOSAI's member directory links national supreme audit institutions. Use it when the office name is unfamiliar or government search results are ambiguous ¹.

A country may have separate national, state, provincial, municipal or court audit bodies. Confirm that the office has jurisdiction over the entity and period in question.

Official offices used by this site

These links cover the jurisdictions represented in the current Audit Outcomes case collection. The global directory remains the route for other countries ¹.

Jurisdiction	Audit office
Australia	Australian National Audit Office ²
Canada	Office of the Auditor General of Canada ³
European Union	European Court of Auditors ⁴
Kenya	Office of the Auditor-General ⁵
Philippines	Commission on Audit ⁶
South Africa	Auditor-General South Africa ⁷
United Kingdom	National Audit Office ⁸
United States	Government Accountability Office ⁹

Search by entity and year

Use the audited entity's formal name and the report year. Programme names can change, so search both the current and former names. Try the report catalogue before a general web search.

For annual financial audits, search the entity's accounts or annual report. For a performance audit, search the programme title, project name or policy area.

Check Parliament

Audit reports may be tabled in a legislature and examined by a public accounts committee. Search the committee's inquiries, evidence, reports and government responses ¹⁰.

Check follow-up records

A recommendation database may show open and closed actions. Where no database exists, search later audit reports, annual reports and parliamentary responses ¹¹.

Record the update date and the meaning of each status. Closure can reflect verified implementation or another administrative reason.

Confirm the document

Check the publisher, report number, date, audited period and scope. Keep the report URL and any downloadable file. If a later source describes the audit differently, return to the original scope before writing the comparison.

Common questions

What if the audit office site has moved?

Use the INTOSAI member directory, the legislature's tabled papers and the government's official publications archive ¹.

Should I start with news coverage?

Start with the audit report. Press coverage can help identify later events, but it should not replace the primary record.

How do I find follow-up action?

Search recommendation trackers, later audits, committee responses and court or investigation records ¹¹.

Audit cases move on. Each page shows the date we last checked it. Spotted an error or a newer official record? Email [email protected] with the official link.

Sources

What a supreme audit institution does
A plain guide to national audit offices, their independence, audit types, reporting powers and the limits of an audit finding.
How to read a public audit report
A guide to the parts of a public audit report: scope, criteria, findings, management response, recommendations, audit opinions and management letters.
How public accounts committees work
How parliamentary public accounts committees use audit reports, take evidence, publish recommendations and obtain government responses.
Audit recommendation trackers by country
Where to check whether public audit recommendations remain open, were accepted, were implemented or need a later follow-up report.