Audits provide essential accountability and transparency over government programs. Given the current challenges facing governments and their programs, the oversight provided through auditing is more critical than ever. Government auditing provides the objective analysis and information needed to make the decisions necessary to help create a better future. The professional standards presented in this 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standards (known as the Yellow Book) provide a framework for performing high-quality audit work with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence to provide accountability and to help improve government operations and services. These standards, commonly referred to as generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), provide the foundation for government auditors to lead by example in the areas of independence, transparency, accountability, and quality through the audit process. This revision contains major changes from, and supersedes, the 2011 revision.

We are delighted to introduce the proceeding of the first edition of the International Conference on Science and Technology (ICoST) that was held in Claro Hotel, May 2-3, 2019. It was organized by Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar in partnership with Forum Dekan Fakultas Sains dan Teknologi PTKIN. The theme of the ICoST is “Roles and Challenges of Science and Technology in Guaranteeing Halal Products in the Industrial Revolution 4.0”. The Indonesian government has begun to respond this industrial change by launching the roadmap of 'Making Indonesia 4.0' as a strategy to ease Indonesia's steps to become one of the new powers in Asia in April 2018. This roadmap provides a clear direction for the movement of the national industry in the future, including a focus on developing priority sectors that will become Indonesia's strength towards Industry 4.0. The proceeding of ICoST contains the scientific research, written by the academicians, researchers, practitioners, and government elements who have the same thoughts about the effort to develop the society’s ability to adapt the advancement of science and technology in the global competition to face the industrial revolution 4.0. We are also very grateful to all keynote speakers and committee members, willing to act as referee for their time and efforts to keep our conference going well. In the future, we expect the ICoST will be able to provide another scientific atmosphere and stimulate more participants to join this conference.

WIPO financial statements are submitted to its Assemblies of Member States in accordance with the Financial Regulations and Rules.

This volume, developed by the Observatory together with OECD, provides an overall conceptual framework for understanding and applying strategies aimed at improving quality of care. Crucially, it summarizes available evidence on different quality strategies and provides recommendations for their implementation. This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies.