The Office of the National Public Auditor submitted its latest performance audit report titled Board oversight needs to be strengthened to improve the governance and performance of the National Fisheries Corporation to the President and the Congress on 7 August 2023.
iCED's next six months of environmental audit training
The International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iCED)* in Jaipur, India seeks nominations from SAI heads for participants to attend upcoming environmental audit training programmes.
This follows a joint invitation from the Chair of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
25 or 26 September 2023
International Webinar on “Audit of Blue Economy, Issues and Challenges with special reference to SDG 14”
Nomination deadline: 8 September 2023
Email nominees’ name and their email addresses to iced@cag.gov.in. iCED may then request nominees to complete the registration form.
4–16 December 2023
11th International Training Programme (ITP) on “Introduction to Environmental Auditing”
Nomination deadline: 3 November 2023
Complete the ITP nomination form and email it to iced@cag.gov.in to nominate SAI candidates.
5–9 February 2024
International Workshop on “Renewable Energy Development Strategies and Mechanisms with special reference to Solar Energy”
Nomination deadline: 5 January 2024
Complete the workshop nomination form and email it to iced@cag.gov.in to nominate SAI candidates.
There is comprehensive information about the facilities and programmes available at iCED. Staff at iCED will be in touch with participants, if accepted, for further arrangements.
*iCED is a Global Training Facility of the INTOSAI WGEA
Website: http://iced.cag.gov.in/
Email: iced@cag.gov.in
Phone: 0141-2772009/ 2772012/ 2772000
Fax: 0141-2772011/ 2772030
SAI FSM National releases performance audit report on Caroline Islands Air
The Office of the National Public Auditor submitted its latest performance audit report titled Improvement needed in the oversight function of the Board of Directors for the Caroline Islands Air, Inc to the President and the Congress on 28 July 2023.
Report on PASAI's fourth quarter of activities now available
We have just published our fourth quarterly report for the 2022–23 financial year.
Current and past reports are available on our Quarterly Reports page.
RWGEA communiqué and presentations now available
The Regional Working Group on Environmental Auditing (RWGEA) had an in-person meeting in Sydney, Australia from 9 to 11 May 2023.
You can now access (by entering your name and email address) more than 30 presentations made at the meeting. The communiqué records the common themes emerging from the presentations and discussions.
The Audit Office of New South Wales hosted the meeting and prepared the record.
Please send topic suggestions for future events or meetings to the RWGEA Coordinator, Jonathan Keate, by email to Jonathan.Keate@oag.parliament.nz.
Related media release: Global environmental goals spur Pacific auditors to meet in Sydney
ClimateScanner project presentation
RSVP for Strengthening collaborative efforts with media webinar
The media play a critical role in effective national integrity systems which support good governance, transparency and accountability. The media can reveal performance failures, fraud, corruption, highlight good practice and promote public accountability.
On Thursday 20 July at 1.30pm (NZT) the Office of the Auditor-General of New Zealand will hold a webinar exploring the value of strengthening collaborative efforts between supreme audit institutions (government audit offices, or “SAIs”) and the media. The panellists will be:
Barbara Dreaver, Pacific Correspondent, One News, TVNZ.
Georgina Kekea, Pacific Anti-Corruption Journalist Network, Editor of the Tavuli Television News, and President of the Media Association of Solomon Islands.
Lydia Lewis and Koroi Hawkins, Pacific Correspondents, Radio New Zealand.
Satrunino Tewid, Public Auditor of Palau and Chair of PASAI.
This is the second webinar in a 2023 series on building strong national integrity systems in the Pacific region. Leveraging the recent findings in PASAI’s Accountability and Transparency Report, this series is intended to provide a forum for those with a stake or role in such systems in the Pacific, to share knowledge and expertise.
To register, email international@oag.govt.nz by 15 July 2023. We encourage you to forward this invitation to those you think may be interested in the event.
Government auditing improvements mapped out in Tuvalu during PASAI visit
Funafuti, Tuvalu: Senior representatives from the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) spent five days in Tuvalu’s capital last week to, among other things, plan how they can support the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) with its audit capabilities in the coming 2023–2024 financial year.
PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, and Programme Director, Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo, also met Auditor General, Imase Taai Kaunatu, in person to discuss the progress and implementation of the OAG’s independence strategy.
Having met with other senior leaders in person, Ms Lameko-Poutoa reflected, “Tuvalu has passed legislation providing financial and organisational independence to the OAG but its implementation remains a challenge.
“It’s clear from our dialogue with various government officials they are in support of implementing SAI independence for better governance and public financial management.”
A previous Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) assessment of the OAG identified scope for improvement in the formalisation of its internal governance policies, procedures and practices. Ms Palamo-Iosefo worked with the OAG to plan the review of its documentation.
The OAG performs audits of Tuvaluan government agencies in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI). PASAI used the ISSAI Compliance Assessment Tool (iCAT) to review the OAG’s performance audit practices and documented its processes and methodologies.
Ms Palamo-Iosefo said, “We discussed avenues to address gaps identified in both the iCAT review and a recent quality assurance review of the OAG’s financial audits.”
Mses Lameko-Poutoa and Palamo-Iosefo met with Finance Secretary, Taufia Patolo, and Ministry of Finance staff who prepare the financial statements of government (FSG), which are the accounts audited annually by the OAG.
They also met the Acting Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and members of the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to convey the importance of pursuing the OAG’s independence and to discuss their role in the scrutiny of the audited FSG, audit recommendations and the follow-up process.
In meeting the Chair of the Tuvalu Association of Non-Government Organisations (TANGO), Faiatea Latasi, and a member of TANGO’s Board, the PASAI team promoted the OAG’s role in strengthening Tuvalu’s public finance management, advocated for the importance of SAI independence in fulfilling this role and sought TANGO’s support with the OAG’s pursuit for independence.
Before returning to the PASAI Secretariat office in Auckland, Mses Lameko-Poutoa and Palamo-Iosefo also made a courtesy visit to the Acting Australian High Commissioner, Antony Walter, and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) Senior Development Programme Coordinator, Belinda Malaefou, both stationed in Funafuti.
PASAI acknowledges the support of 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
PDF version of this media release
PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, presenting to staff of the Office of the Auditor General, Tuvalu
PASAI Programme Director, Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo, delivering a presentation on Human Resource Management
Left to right: Acting Clerk to Parliament, Lakaga Uniuni; Auditor General, Imase Taai Kaunatu; PAC Member, the Hon Monise Laafai; PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa; and Programme Director, Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo
Left to right: Auditor General, Imase Taai Kaunatu; Finance Secretary, Taufia Patolo; PASAI Programme Director, Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo; and Finance Assistant Secretary, Asau Leauma
SAI FSM National reports on follow-up audit of its country's Trust Fund
The Office of the National Public Auditor submitted its latest performance audit on the recommendations on prior audit (Report No. 2021-02) titled Improvement needed in the oversight function of the Board and management of the Fund to the President and the Congress on 5 June 2023.
Twenty-one Pacific Island government audit office staff in Fiji for improved financial auditing
Suva, Fiji: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) is jointly providing in-person training to Pacific Island auditors to perfect the financial audits they perform on whole of government accounts.
Twenty-one staff (15 female, six 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 5 to 9 June 2023.
Senior Manager from the INTOSAI Development Initiative, Karma Tenzin, and PASAI programme directors, Meresimani Vosawale-Katuba and Susana Laulu, are facilitating the programme focused on ensuring participating member SAIs can sustainably plan, execute and report on their government audits in accordance with international standards.
Following recent revisions to quality control standards for SAIs, PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, explained, “We expect this workshop will enable participants to design and implement bespoke systems of audit quality management with a focus on financial audits of governments.”
This training is part of a programme of capability-building support to conduct Financial Statements of Government (FSG) audits in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) that started in 2020.
Programme participants have since conducted FSG audits and performed quality assurance (QA) reviews on each other’s work.
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
PDF version of this media release
PASAI 34th Governing Board meeting
Auckland, New Zealand: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) held its 34th Governing Board meeting online on 2 June 2023. Sairusi Dukuno, Acting Auditor-General of Fiji and Immediate Past Chair of the PASAI Governing Board, chaired the meeting.
John Ryan, Secretary-General PASAI and Auditor-General of New Zealand attended along with most other board members, PASAI Secretariat staff and representatives from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Esther Lameko-Poutoa, Chief Executive PASAI, presented a comprehensive operational plan for the coming financial year. The Governing Board approved the plan and its proposed budget.
Members discussed at some length the recommendations from a draft independent evaluation of PASAI’s delivery against its current strategic plan. They also continued work on the development of a vision, mission and values to guide new priorities in its next strategic period.
The Secretariat expresses its gratitude to the Governing Board members for their ongoing assistance and acknowledges MFAT and DFAT for their continued support of PASAI and its work in the region.
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Contact information:
Esther Lameko-Poutoa, Chief Executive PASAI, Auckland, New Zealand
E: secretariat@pasai.org P: +64 9 304 1275
PDF version of this media release
Navigating towards better public financial management after PASAI visits Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Senior representatives from the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) spent five days in Port Moresby last week to help advance productive relationships between the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) and other Papua New Guinean government agencies.
PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, and recently appointed Programme Director, Susana Laulu, met Auditor-General, Gordon Kega, in person for the first time to discuss how PASAI can support the AGO with its audit capabilities.
The AGO made arrangements for PASAI staff to meet with the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and its Secretariat to discuss the scrutiny of the audited financial statements of government, audit recommendations, the follow-up process and the importance of pursuing the AGO’s independence.
Regarding audit office independence, Ms Lameko-Poutoa said, “We have identified scope for legislative reform to improve the financial and operational independence of the AGO and to protect its staff.
“We will continue to advocate for such prerequisites of a functional public financial management system in Papua New Guinea, as we do in the nations of all our member offices.”
The AGO has an audit backlog of the government’s financial statements. PASAI staff and senior AGO officers met with staff from the departments of Finance and Treasury, committing to complete these outstanding audits as a priority and collaborate to ensure the timeliness of future audits.
The visit coincided with the online launch last week of PASAI’s fourth report in its Transparency and Accountability series. The Chief Executive of Transparency International, Arianne Kassman, participated in the launch as a webinar panellist and expressed the importance to civil society of the AGO being able to produce timely audit reports and make them publicly available.
Ms Lameko-Poutoa was positive some important institutional relationships had been established during the visit saying, “We succeeded in conveying to key stakeholders in parliament and the public sector how important it is for the people of Papua New Guinea that the AGO is able to fulfil its mandate.”
Through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Institutional Partnership Programme, a senior advisor from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is currently deployed to the AGO. She was instrumental in coordinating the week of meetings and presentations while planning how PASAI can complement the existing twinning relationship ANAO has, to better support the AGO.
Mses Lameko-Poutoa and Laulu also made a courtesy visit to the New Zealand High Commissioner, Pete Zwart, stationed in Port Moresby.
PASAI acknowledges the support of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and 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
PDF version of this media release
PASAI Programme Director, Susana Laulu; Advisor to Auditor General, Meegan Reinhard; Transparency International Papua New Guinea Chief Executive Officer, Arianne Kassman; and PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa
With senior representatives from the Auditor-General’s Office and members of the PAC, including the Hon Richard Masese, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee; and Gordon Kega, Auditor General (fifth and sixth from left, respectively)
With AGO’s financial auditors and senior representatives of the departments of Finance and Treasury
With the New Zealand High Commissioner, Pete Zwart
Report on PASAI's third quarter of activities now available
We have just published our third quarterly report for the 2022–23 financial year.
Current and past reports are available on our Quarterly Reports page.
2023 Accountability and Transparency Report now available
Our fourth Accountability and Transparency Report focuses on the effectiveness of the work of Pacific SAIs. It also draws together how SAIs contribute to the public financial management (PFM) system in which SAIs are operating and, in turn, the impact of that system on the SAIs themselves.
We highlight the achievements of Pacific SAIs over recent years in improving the lives of people in the region and in helping to improve the performance of the public sector that serves them. These achievements are more significant because of the difficulties caused by COVID-19 and a range of challenging environmental and political events.
In the face of these challenges, SAIs are becoming increasingly strategic in their approach to influencing positive change to improve governance, accountability, transparency and integrity in the PFM system of their countries.
We hope the report’s examples will encourage our member SAIs to try things that have worked well for their peers. In publishing this report we also seek the continued support of those who can help strengthen the PFM system for the benefit of all people in the Pacific.
PASAI director visits Saipan
Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Guam-based programme director for the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI), Doris Flores Brooks, visited Saipan last week on an advocacy and knowledge-sharing mission.
The primary purpose of Ms Flores Brooks’ trip was to explain to the staff at the Office of the Public Auditor for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) how PASAI can help improve its capabilities.
Ms Flores Brooks, who was herself formerly the Public Auditor of Guam, made a presentation to the Temporary Public Auditor, Dora I Deleon Guerrero, and other audit staff on the independent performance assessment of their office. The office’s assessment indicated its performance audit standards, quality management and results stood out as strengths.
However, high staff turnover at the office since the baseline assessment took place made it especially opportune to familiarise staff with the report and discuss how PASAI’s programme of work can address the gaps it identified. With a strategic plan now in place, the office is committed to tracking its progress against the report.
Such assessments have been completed for all 20 member offices who are beneficiaries of PASAI’s programmes and were done using the internationally recognised Performance Measurement Framework (PMF).
In the CNMI, the Public Auditor’s duties include investigating possible cases of fraud, waste and abuse of public funds. As such, Ms Flores Brooks met with the office’s investigators as well.
Advocacy is one of PASAI’s strategic priorities, so while in Saipan Ms Flores Brooks made courtesy visits to senior government officials to promote the importance of actioning recommendations made by the Office of the Public Auditor and maintaining its overall independence.
Among those she met were Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable David M Apatang; Senate President, Edith DeLeon Guerrero; and newly confirmed Secretary of Finance, Tracy Norita.
According to Ms Flores Brooks, the majority of government employees in CNMI are working reduced hours due to an austerity programme recently implemented by the Governor.
“I was able to share insights that the Government of Guam went through when it too was faced with dire economic conditions,” she said.
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:
Doris Flores Brooks, Programme Director (North) PASAI
E: Doris.FloresBrooks@pasai.org P: +64 9 304 1275
PDF version of this media release
PASAI Programme Director, Doris Flores Brooks (fourth from left), with staff from the Office of the Public Auditor for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Ms Flores Brooks and Temporary Public Auditor, Dora I Deleon Guerrero with Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable David M Apatang
With Senate President, Edith DeLeon Guerrero
With Secretary of Finance, Tracy Norita
Global environmental goals spur Pacific auditors to meet in Sydney
Sydney, Australia: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) has gathered heads of government audit offices from across Australasia and the Pacific Islands for the 11th meeting of the Regional Working Group on Environmental Auditing (RWGEA).
The Audit Office of New South Wales is hosting the event from 9 to 11 May 2023 which will reflect themes that relate to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 to 15, summarised as Climate Action, Life Below Water and Life On Land.
Dr Vivi Niemenmaa, Secretary-General of the international working group above the RWGEA, is attending from Finland in person to facilitate training on environmental performance auditing.
PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, is using the event to better understand the needs of member offices who will likely be including environmental issues in their audit plans.
Ms Lameko-Poutoa emphasised the regional significance of the meeting saying, “Climate change disproportionately affects small island states in the Pacific.
“An upcoming global cooperative audit of climate change adaptation actions presents an opportunity for our members to make a meaningful contribution to addressing this international issue.”
Attendees of the gathering will also hear from expert speakers on the topics of auditing threats to biodiversity and government responses to climate risk.
Lead Partner at Deloitte and Worimi man, Professor Deen Sanders OAM, will present on using Indigenous knowledge to inform an understanding of climate and biodiversity.
Attendees will also be able to participate in practical workshops to scope potential environmental/climate change audits.
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
PDF version of this media release
Thirteen Pacific Island government audit office staff on path to becoming HR champions
Suva, Fiji: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) in collaboration with the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO) are building the human resource management (HRM) capabilities of staff from Pacific Island government audit offices.
Thirteen staff (10 female, three male) from nine supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in Fiji, FSM National, FSM Pohnpei, Guam, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have gathered in Suva, Fiji for the first of six modules in this HR Champions programme.
In this eight-day, face-to-face workshop from 2 to 11 May, programme facilitators will introduce participants to HRM processes and international good practices in a way that is relatable to their local contexts.
Recent SAI Performance Measurement Framework assessments identified that most SAIs are not well-resourced to coordinate and manage human resource issues ranging from recruitment, appraisal and staff well-being to professional development and training.
This programme aims to create a group of staff capable of supporting their own SAIs in a self-sustaining model, minimising a reliance on external expertise for HR support.
The programme facilitators include senior advisors from SNAO, Ingela Ekblom and Carolina Bjerström, and PASAI Director Practice Development, Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo.
Ms Palamo-Iosefo expressed confidence in the programme’s foundations, saying, “We have already worked with the HR experts at the Swedish National Audit Office to support nine SAIs in the region to develop their own HR strategies and operational plans.
“By requiring participants to devote about 20 per cent of their working time to programme lectures and assignments after the first in-person module, we will support staff who are committed to becoming regional HR resources in the longer term.”
The programme will make use of PASAI’s revised HR Guide and is expected to finish in 2024.
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:
Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo, Director Practice Development PASAI, Auckland, New Zealand
E: sina.iosefo@pasai.org P: +64 9 304 1275
PDF version of this media release
New Samoa-based director joins Secretariat
Auckland, New Zealand: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) has welcomed accomplished auditing and accounting professional, Faiane Susana Laulu, to its Secretariat team.
As a Programme Director at PASAI, Ms Laulu will be focusing on having member audit offices in the Pacific deliver high-quality audits on a timely basis.
Ms Lalau has been undertaking a comprehensive induction at the Secretariat’s office in Auckland since 24 April but from next week will be primarily based in her home of Samoa.
For the last nine years Ms Laulu was the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank of Samoa. She has been instrumental in implementing positive changes to improve and enhance the capacity and performance of the Bank to advance sustainable economic and social development for Samoa.
She has also previously worked in an international chartered accounting firm conducting audits of the private sector, international companies and public sector entities.
Ms Laulu holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of New England and a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and financial management from the University of the South Pacific. She is a member of the Samoa Institute of Accountants and the Institute of Public Accountants Australia.
PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, is pleased to have Ms Laulu join the Secretariat staff.
“Susana brings more than 20 years of experience in auditing, financial management, governance, banking, public policy, business strategy and related disciplines to PASAI,” she said.
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).
Susana Laulu (third from left) with the Secretariat’s Auckland-based staff
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Contact information:
Esther Lameko-Poutoa, Chief Executive PASAI, Auckland, New Zealand
E: secretariat@pasai.org P: +64 9 304 1275
PDF version of this media release
RSVP to attend launch of PASAI's Accountability and Transparency study report
The PASAI Secretary-General (and Controller and Auditor-General of New Zealand), John Ryan, will launch our fourth study of accountability and transparency issues and risks in the Pacific region with a webinar from 1.30 to 2.30 pm (New Zealand time) on Thursday 18 May 2023.
The webinar will explore the key findings from this study and will feature guest panellists discussing the value civil society organisations (CSOs) bring to the effective function of the public financial management system, and particularly, to the work of supreme audit institutions in the Pacific.
Panellists will talk about ways their organisations complement the work of government integrity agencies and provide examples of actions they have taken.
Panellists include:
Arianne Kassman, Chief Executive, Transparency International, Papua New Guinea
Emeline Siale Ilolahia, Executive Director, Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO)
Satrunino Tewid, PASAI Chair and Public Auditor of Palau
Participation will be encouraged during a question and answer session after these presentations..
If you would like to attend please RSVP to international@oag.parliament.nz by 15 May.
We encourage you to forward this invitation to those you think may be interested in this event.
SAI FSM National releases audit report on the ADB's Renewable Energy Development Project
The Office of the National Public Auditor submitted its latest Financial Audit Report titled Renewable Energy Development Project: Asian Development Bank - Financial Statements and Independent Auditors' Report for the year ended September 30, 2022 to the President and the Congress on 12 April 2023.
SAI FSM National releases report on government's potential liability in $9.5 million lawsuit
The Office of the National Public Auditor (ONPA) Releases Inspection Report on the $9.5 million initially booked by the Department of Finance & Administration as the Government’s Liability in a Lawsuit Involving a Contractor for Road Projects in Chuuk State.
We have completed our Inspection on the $9.5 million based on a request from the FSM Congress per Congressional Resolution No. 22-194: To request the Office of the National Public Auditor to audit the accounts, books, and other financial records of the Department of Finance and Administration in regards to the $9,500,454 reserved by the Department of Finance and Administration in Fiscal Year 2019 to cover the potential National Government liability in FSM v. Pacific International, Inc., Civ. Case No. 2014-46, Appeal Case No. P12-2021. We conducted this Inspection in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation (QSIE) and also included reviews of journal entries and their supporting documents and interviews of key officials to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our conclusions.
Based on our objective, we concluded that the $9.5 million initially booked in 2019 to cover the potential National Government liability in Civil Case No. 2014-46, Appeal Case No. P12-2021 was an adjusting journal entry to reduce the Fund Balance and to set up a related liability based on the legal representation from the Department of Justice. The arbitration was completed and the final award was reduced to $6 million, thus another adjusting journal entry was posted to increase Fund Balance and reduce liability by $3.5 million. The National Government’s debt of $6 million remained unpaid as of the date we issued this final Inspection Report. No cash was reserved as a result of such transactions.
For more information contact: Email: info@fsmopa.fm; Phone: (691)320-2862/3; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsmpublicauditor
Article XII, Section 3 of the F.S.M Constitution and Title 55, Chapter 5 of the FSM Code authorized the Public Auditor to direct a broad, comprehensive program of auditing within the National Government.
