Port Vila, Vanuatu: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) is training Pacific Island auditors to perform high-quality financial audits of profit-oriented public entities.

Twenty-four senior staff (17 female, seven male) from supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are participating in the five-day face-to-face workshop from 13 to 17 March 2023.

PASAI programme directors, Meresimani Vosawale-Katuba and Sagar Adhau, are facilitating the programme focused on ensuring financial audits of commercial bodies comply with the requirements of international standards.

Support to improve audit capabilities in the Pacific comes from afar. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) developed a Financial Audit Manual suitable for SAIs to carry out efficient, effective and compliant audits of small to medium sized state-owned enterprises.

In an agreement with PASAI, ICAEW granted the SAIs the licence to use this manual.

PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, explained, “The manual provides a structured and well-tested method for performing financial audits and will help ensure SAIs conduct audits in line with international standards.”

By the end of the workshop, participants should be more capable of assessing risk, linking audit procedures to the risk assessment and collecting appropriate and relevant audit evidence to substantiate audit opinions. They will be able to train their colleagues in how to use the manual as well.

Following the workshop, PASAI will provide one-on-one online coaching sessions on request to resolve any issues while implementing their learnings. It can also assist the SAI in a quality assurance review.

PASAI acknowledges the support of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

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Contact information:

Esther Lameko-Poutoa, Chief Executive PASAI, Auckland, New Zealand
E: secretariat@pasai.org P: +64 9 304 1275

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