Conferencia | Aureliano Hernández Palacios Cardel, Auditor Superior de la Federación | 30/06/2026

ASF Begins Reengineering Its Audit Model to Conduct Comprehensive Audits: Aureliano Hernández Palacios ⚫The head of the Superior Audit Office of the Federation indicates that the purpose is to review "everything and everyone" at all three levels of government Note No. 3996 https://comunicacionsocial.diputados.... San Lázaro Legislative Palace, June 30, 2026.- The head of the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), Aureliano Hernández Palacios Cardel, stated that the agency has begun reengineering its audit model to conduct comprehensive audits, file criminal complaints as soon as it detects possible irregularities, and strengthen the monitoring of corruption cases, with the purpose of Reviewing "everything and everyone" at all three levels of government. In a press conference following the presentation of the first set of Individual Audit Reports for the 2025 Public Accounts at the San Lázaro Legislative Palace, he explained that the new framework will allow for a broader review of the use of public funds. "We are going to audit everything and everyone, and that 'everything and everyone' means precisely that: we are going to conduct comprehensive reviews. We are going to review not only the allocation of public funds, but also whether the objectives for which each resource was earmarked in the Federal Expenditure Budget are being met." Regarding the fight against corruption, Palacios Cardel maintained that the ASF (Superior Audit Office of the Federation) will act without distinction of government level or political affiliation, and that the new powers allow it to file criminal complaints as soon as it detects potential illicit acts. "The moment we become aware of something, we go and file a complaint against the entity where we discovered the potential wrongdoing and against the public officials potentially responsible." Regarding the possibility of detecting links between public funds and organized crime, Palacios Cardel noted that the ASF (Superior Audit Office of the Federation) works in coordination with the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), the Attorney General's Office (FGR), and other institutions to identify irregularities. "Above all, we conduct audits with a truly comprehensive approach, reviewing the entire origin of resources and where public funds go. "We ensure that not a single portion of the budget remains unidentified, down to the final beneficiary of those resources. If there is organized crime, if companies are involved in collusion, or if any public official returns, we are ready to take action and sanction the misuse of resources." He emphasized that the ASF will strengthen citizen complaint and monitoring mechanisms to prevent discretionary decisions. "This effectively forces us to make discretionary decisions, because if citizens are going to demand accountability and follow up on each of these complaints, it will encourage us to be much more self-regulating," he noted. The official assured that the new phase of the ASF will be based on transparency and accountability. Palacios Cardel explained that the 100 new audits of the 2025 Public Accounts will be comprehensive. As part of a new reengineering of the Annual Audit Program, the current sector-specific review model will be replaced by comprehensive audits covering legal and financial compliance, performance, and the management of public resources. “Now, universal coverage will be implemented in a comprehensive manner, rather than project by project.” What we said is: 'we are going to transform the annual audit program, we are going to practically eliminate sector-specific audits, and what we are going to do now is open new ones.'" Regarding the 31 investigations and 21 criminal complaints filed for possible damage to public funds, Palacios Cardel explained that they were made possible by recent legal reforms, which allow investigations to begin without waiting for the conclusion of a formal audit. "What we did with this modification is to begin these audits, since they are direct investigations, without having to go through the entire audit process. This allows us to conduct a direct investigation based on any indication we have, which doesn't necessarily mean it will result in a sanction." He specified that these are cases from all three levels of government, several of them with high media impact, and emphasized that the investigations do not automatically imply a sanction, but rather seek to clarify possible irregularities. He also noted that the criminal complaints respond to "a possible misappropriation of resources of 600 million pesos"...