The Lima Declaration of 1977 lays out the fundamentals elements of SAIs' work, as well as the basic conditions SAIs need be able to carry out their mandate and achieve independent, objective results.

The Lima Declaration is considered to be the 'Magna Carta' of INTOSAI, the foundational document for the work of SAIs and government auditing. The principles established in the Lima Declaration have been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in two resolutions, 66/209 and 69/228.

The Mexico Declaration elaborates on the topic of SAI independence as laid out in the Lima Declaration. It presents eight core principles, or pillars, of SAI independence:

• Principle 1: The existence of an appropriate and effective constitutional/statutory/legal framework and of de facto application provisions of this framework
• Principle 2: The independence of SAI heads and members (of collegial institutions), including security of tenure and legal immunity in the normal discharge of their duties
• Principle 3: A sufficiently broad mandate and full discretion, in the discharge of SAI functions
• Principle 4: Unrestricted access to information
• Principle 5: The right and obligation to report on their work
• Principle 6: The freedom to decide the content and timing of audit reports and to publish and disseminate them
• Principle 7: The existence of effective follow-up mechanisms on SAI recommendations
• Principle 8: Financial and managerial/administrative autonomy and the availability of appropriate human, material, and monetary resources

INTOSAI-P 12:

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U4 Anti-Corruption Helpdesk