The National Transparency Authority (NTA) on the occasion of the writing of the Code of Ethics for Internal Auditors in Public Administration by the General Directorate for Integrity and Accountability, organized a webinar with the theme: 'Code of Ethics for Internal Auditors: An Ethical Compass for the Implementation of Internal Control'. More than 350 professionals from the public and private sectors had the opportunity to be informed about a valuable tool for public officials. This tool includes the set of principles and values that govern the work of internal auditors and presents practical examples of ethical dilemmas".
Mrs. Maria Konstantinidou, Head of the General Directorate for Integrity and Accountability of the National Transparency Authority, gave a brief welcome, highlighting, among other things, the importance of writing the Code following the recent adoption by the Ministry of the Interior of Law 4795/2021, which establishes the unified internal control system in public sector. She also paid tribute to the General Directorate for Integrity and Accountability working group that had written the Code, describing the international experience and standards that had been taken into account in its development.
Mr. Konstantinos Kostopoulos, Vice-President of the Hellenic Court of Audit, took part in the discussion and spoke about the Code of Ethics that the Hellenic Court of Audit had included in the manual for the exercise of its audit functions. He emphasised that the Code of Ethics contains guiding principles to assist the auditor in assessing the acceptability of an activity or behaviour, both inside and outside the service.
Mrs. Athinaida Tourkolia, Head of the General Directorate of Controls for Co-Funded Programs/Committee for Fiscal Control of the General Directorate of Fiscal Policy at the Ministry of Finance, highlighted the handling of ethical issues in the Audit Manual of the Financial Control Committee. The Financial Control Committee acts as the national control authority for the co-funded programmes of the European Structural and Investment Funds Furthermore, she highlighted the common points between the two Codes and their compatibility in terms of the common need to ensure the quality and validity of audit work.
Ms. Verra Marmalidou, President of the Institute of Internal Auditors of Greece, explained the importance of the fact that the Code of Ethics for Internal Auditors in the Public Sector is based on the corresponding one of the International Institute, stressing that for its implementation other actions are also required, such as the implementation of training programmes and the adoption of an 'open door' policy, so that auditors find a place to express their thoughts and dilemmas.
Mrs. Dimitra Dargenidou, Employee of the General Directorate of Integrity and Accountability of the NTA, presented the basic structure and content of the Code of Ethics, and also coordinated the discussion."
You can watch the webinar at the following link: https://youtu.be/FVSQaa9RUhE .