Close
Back
Download NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Log in
No account?
Forgot your password?
NATO MULTIMEDIA ACCOUNT
Access NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Create an account
Check your inbox and enter verification code
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
You have successfully created your account
From now on you can download videos from our website
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would also like to subscribe to the newsletter and receive our latest updates, click on the button below.
Reset password
Enter the email address you registered with and we will send you a code to reset your password.
Reset password
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
Create a new password
The password must be at least 12 characters long, no spaces, include upper/lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Your password has been updated
Click the button to return to the page you were on and log in with your new password.
Study visit to NATO Headquarters and Belgium's Cour des comptes: strengthening international cooperation, security and governance through auditing
15 May 2025
Updated: 11 June 2025
3 MIN READ
In the margins of the annual meeting of the CNAB (Competent National Audit Bodies), held on 15 May 2025, the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) was honoured to welcome eight representatives from the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) of the Republic of North Macedonia (State Audit Office) and Romania (Curtea de Conturi a României) to Brussels for a substantial and instructive strategic-level study visit.
This initiative demonstrates IBAN’s willingness to promote synergies between the SAIs of NATO member states. It was an opportunity to build deeper professional ties, share expertise on current challenges in public auditing and highlight the key role that auditing plays in a constantly evolving international environment in which transparency, security and good governance are shared priorities.
Discussions on key topics
Several major issues were addressed during the meeting, including:
- The role and missions of IBAN in the context of NATO’s current financial architecture, and its importance for transparency and accountability in the use of the Alliance’s resources – Mr Radek Visinger, IBAN Chair, Mr Carlo Mancinelli, IBAN member, and Mr Franz Wascotte, former IBAN member.
- Performance audit – presentation of a report on NATO’s prevention and management of harassment, bullying and discrimination in the workplace by Ms Marie-Josée Bouffard, IBAN performance auditor.
- The use of information technologies to improve the efficiency and scope of audits – Ms Viveca Norman, IBAN member and Mr Andrej Vasev, IBAN information systems auditor.
- Financial audit practices, underpinning rigorous and transparent management of the Organization’s finances – Mr Dries Maelegheer, IBAN financial auditor.
- The IBAN competency framework, a crucial component for ensuring the quality and consistency of external audits – Mr Sébastien Lepers, IBAN member and organizer of this first study visit.
These technical discussions highlighted the way that SAIs contribute, through their expertise, to the resilience, efficiency and integrity of multilateral structures, in service of transparent governance and enduring global security.
As part of their respective delegations, the participants in the study visit were able to attend the annual CNAB meeting, which gave them the opportunity to review the IBAN Annual Activity Report, learn more about the audit methods used at IBAN, thanks to the presentations by Mr Soufyane Hanni and Mr Steven Mariani, and, in particular, hear from distinguished guest speakers Mr Tony Murphy, President of the European Court of Auditors, and Ms Olha Pishchanska, Chair of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine.
Further discussions at Belgium's Cour des comptes
The visit continued on 16 May at the Palais du comte de Flandre, the headquarters of Belgium's Cour des comptes. This day enabled the participants to gain a more in-depth understanding of national audit practices and to explore areas of alignment with the approaches taken within NATO.
IBAN, driving collaboration for sustainable governance
The discussions and experience-sharing perfectly illustrate IBAN’s mission: to promote cooperation between SAIs, enhance audit capabilities and contribute to rigorous public governance, which is indispensable to stability and collective security within the Alliance. By bringing together experts from different countries and encouraging the sharing of practices, IBAN continues to act as a bridge between the SAIs, in the service of transparency, accountability and international strategy.