By Mike Scott, Program Director, PASAI
We at PASAI have a program of work supporting SAIs to effectively engage with their key stakeholders, including their legislatures, public entities, the media and citizens. In fact, we ran a workshop in Guam on stakeholder engagement for SAIs in the North Pacific last November.
One of the things this workshop covered was how SAIs can tell their value story effectively. As the participants shared what their work had achieved, I thought to myself how the people in SAIs are like unsung heroes. [1] They achieve great things, often act with exceptional courage and integrity, and make a significant positive impact on others, yet they do not actively seek, expect or want public recognition for their actions.
In my experience, SAIs prefer to remain in the background rather than draw attention, rely on their work speaking for itself rather than promoting it, and tell their value story in a modest and reserved way rather than taking full credit for the difference that they make.
There are valid reasons for this. A SAI should not aim to be in the headlines for the sake of it. Trust and respect for a SAI’s work are not built through headlines, but rather through being a source of reliable, accurate, balanced and reasoned information to support transparency and accountability. A similar sentiment appeared in another recent blog post:
“Our value is not measured by controversy or confrontation, but by the usefulness of our work and the confidence it builds.” [2]
In my view, SAIs should not, on the other extreme, hide their light under a bushel, or shy away from being noticed. Through being overly cautious, modest or reserved about their work and worth, SAIs will miss opportunities to have greater impact and receive warranted acknowledgement.
The sweet spot for a SAI to hit is to be recognised, respected and trusted for the difference that it makes without courting headlines, fanfare or acclamation.
This seems like a good time to acknowledge some other unsung heroes. Rosalind Franklin. “Who?” I hear you say. She was a scientist whose X-ray diffraction images were foundational to the discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure. Michael Collins. “Who?” I hear you say again. He was the third member of the Apollo 11 crew that was the first to land on the moon in 1969. He never set foot on the moon but played a critical role in the mission’s success, operating the spacecraft and conducting experiments.
These are just a few examples of individuals dedicated to doing their jobs well and setting up others for success. I wonder if they remind you of anyone.
I admit that I did a bit of research using artificial intelligence to write this blog post, which is remarkable given how much of an old dinosaur I can be. This is what it said about why SAIs are unsung heroes:
Despite their impact, SAIs rarely get recognition. Their work is technical, meticulous, and often politically sensitive. They operate quietly, deliberately, and without fanfare.
They don’t chase headlines—they chase accuracy.
They don’t seek power—they check it.
They don’t demand praise—they earn trust.
In a world where public institutions are constantly under scrutiny, SAIs remain one of the few that consistently deliver value without drama.
I am professionally sceptical of AI but have to say I can’t find much fault with it in this case.
A final word. I am not advocating for SAIs to be headline-grabbing attention seekers. Instead, I am encouraging SAIs to tell their stories of achievement proudly, in an evidence-based, factual, balanced and moderate way, taking credit only for what difference they make.
It is crucial that a SAI’s stakeholders understand the SAI’s worth and acknowledge this through supporting the SAI’s independence in safeguarding integrity and promoting value in the use of public funds.
Next month in Samoa, we are re-running the stakeholder engagement workshop so I am looking forward to help my colleagues in the South Pacific SAIs to, among other activities, craft their value stories.
References
[1] In the blog post, Firefighting, saving lives and the value of performance audit, I previously said, “Auditors and firefighters alike are heroes!”
