State Audit Office defends top transparency ranking after ITA 2025 results
State Audit Office issues detailed clarification after topping 2025 transparency rankings, pledges improvements following HQ collapse in quake
- The State Audit Office (SAO) was ranked first among independent organizations in the 2025 Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) with a score of 94.64.
- The agency defended its top ranking after facing public scrutiny earlier in the year over the procurement process for its new headquarters, which collapsed following an earthquake.
- In its defense, the SAO emphasized that the ITA uses a comprehensive, multi-dimensional methodology, collecting data from internal staff, external stakeholders, and open data sources to ensure valid results.
- While defending its overall score, the SAO admitted that one indicator, "system improvement," scored 81.78, falling below the 85-point benchmark and marking it as an area for reform.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), through its Office of Integrity and Transparency Assessment, announced the results of the 2025 Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) of government agencies on August 15, 2025, alongside the ITA Awards ceremony.
Among independent organisations, the State Audit Office (SAO) secured first place with a score of 94.64. It was followed by the Election Commission (EC) in second with 93.47, and the NACC itself in third with 93.18. The Office of the Ombudsman ranked fourth with 90.51, while the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) came fifth with 90.27.
The strong performance of the SAO is notable given that the agency faced intense public scrutiny earlier this year. In March 2025, its new headquarters building collapsed following an earthquake, raising questions over transparency in procurement processes, particularly regarding the controversial involvement of a Chinese state-owned enterprise that had won the construction contract.
Suwana Suwanjutha, National Anti-Corruption Commissioner and Chair of the Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) Committee, revealed that 8,317 government agencies participated in the 2025 assessment, with over 1.35 million stakeholder responses collected. The nationwide average score reached 93.82 points, an increase of 0.77 from last year and above the target set under the National Strategy on anti-corruption and misconduct.
Of the agencies assessed, 7,832 passed the evaluation criteria, representing 94.17% of the total, up 1.73% from the previous year. Notably, eight out of ten performance indicators recorded higher averages than last year. The highest-scoring indicator was “Use of authority”, which achieved 99.45 points, while “System improvement” showed the biggest gain, averaging 94.39 points, a 9.9-point increase from 2024.
Agencies that met the approved evaluation standards will receive the ITA Awards 2025. These include:
Agency-level awards for the highest-scoring organisations in each category and those showing the most improvement.
Provincial-level awards for provinces that excelled in implementing ITA under the National Strategy framework.
Ministerial-level awards for ministries that successfully advanced ITA objectives.
Supervisory agency awards for organisations tasked by Cabinet resolution to oversee ITA implementation, recognised for achieving national anti-corruption targets.
State Audit Office defends top transparency score after public criticism
The SAO stated on August 18, 2025, addressing public criticism after it was ranked first among independent agencies in the 2025 Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) with a score of 94.64.
In its clarification, the SAO stressed that the ITA is a strategic tool to combat corruption by encouraging state agencies to adopt preventive measures alongside enforcement actions and efforts to instil integrity and honesty in the public sector. The aim, it said, is to ensure that anti-corruption efforts in Thailand produce tangible and sustainable results.
The agency explained that the ITA collects data through a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach and employs statistical and academic methodologies to ensure the outcomes reflect the genuine state of organisational integrity and transparency.
The SAO confirmed its full participation in the 2025 ITA process, in which data was collected across three key areas.
- Internal and Transparency Assessment (IT) – covering five indicators: performance of duties, budget use, exercise of authority, use of government property, and anti-corruption efforts (15 questions). A minimum of 400 staff with at least one year of service were invited to complete the survey via the SAO intranet. In total, 693 personnel responded.
- External Integrity and Transparency Assessment (EIT) – assessing three indicators: quality of operations, communication efficiency, and system improvement (9 questions).
- Part 1: The SAO invited audited agencies, media representatives, and procurement contractors to respond via its website. Out of a required 400, 501 participants submitted responses.
- Part 2: Conducted independently by the NACC, which collected at least 40 responses. During an SAO meeting with audited entities, 60 responses were gathered, with an additional 28 collected from target groups, totalling 88 participants.
- Open Data Integrity and Transparency Assessment (OIT) – comprising two indicators: transparency of information and anti-corruption prevention. This included 28 questions requiring respondents to provide documentary evidence through publicly accessible URLs published on the SAO’s official website, overseen by its ITA readiness working group.
The SAO achieved first place among independent agencies, with 94.64 points. However, it admitted that one indicator fell short of the 85-point benchmark: system improvement under EIT, which scored 81.78. The agency said this would be a key area for further development and reform.
