CONFÍA METHODOLOGY. Methodology for automated financial control: Pilot study for the automation of a financial control process in the Regional Government of Andalusia

Digital transformation is a noticeable reality in virtually all sectors of society, including public administrations, which have experienced significant progress in digitalizing management procedures. However, these advances have not been accompanied by digitalization of audit or ex post control processes, which constitute a fundamental link to the proper functioning of public services. These processes are responsible for ensuring that management procedures comply with the legal system and the principles of legality, effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and sound financial management. Thus, in the area of ​​ex post internal control, the only progress detected has been the replacement of the physical submission of documentation to the control body with digital submission. This has sometimes represented a setback rather than a step forward, as it is not adequately accompanied by the necessary techniques or tools for the proper processing of such documentation. In September 2022, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Regional Government of Andalusia (IGJA) launched a pilot initiative to address control automation, which is the seed of the Confía methodology. Confía means a significant milestone in the modernization of control, addressing the challenge of adapting to the digital reality and promoting its own methodology to automate auditing work under the financial control modality, based on the real-world situation of several lines of subsidies that were processed through highly automated means (unstructured digital files generated from various information systems).