Facebook Events Contact us Learning Platform

Pacific Island auditors trained on revised government auditing standards

Auckland, New Zealand: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) has partnered with the Graduate School USA to train government audit office staff in congressional-style jurisdictions to conduct performance audits to new standards from today.

Sixty-one staff (30 female, 31 male) from the government audit offices of American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), FSM Chuuk, FSM Kosrae, FSM Pohnpei, FSM Yap, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau are participating in the two part-day, online workshop from 28 to 29 November 2023.

These jurisdictions, concentrated in the North Pacific, are either American territories or are in ‘free association’ with the United States of America. As such, the government auditing standards they follow are American.

The course will cover the general standards for governmental auditing, such as ethical principles and quality control. It also includes the fieldwork and reporting standards for performance audits.

After an in-depth review of and update on the standards, participants will discuss the purpose and requirements of individual standards, with an emphasis on the recent changes.

PASAI Director (North), Doris Flores Brooks, was delighted by the response of PASAI members to the opportunity to learn about the revisions to the standards.

“We are pleased to be meeting the demand for training that is tailored to the needs of government auditors working in Congressional systems,” she said.

PASAI is sponsoring the course being offered by the Graduate School USA through its Pacific Island and Virgin Island Training Initiatives (PITI-VITI) programme. Its Oregan-based instructor, Drummond Kahn, has trained Pacific Island auditors over many years.

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).

----END----

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 director visits American Samoa

Pago Pago, American Samoa: Director Practice Development for the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI), Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo, visited American Samoa last week on a knowledge-sharing mission.

The primary purpose of Ms Palamo-Iosefo’s trip was to collaborate with the American Samoa Government Territorial Audit Office (TAO) on opportunities for PASAI to support building its capabilities and improving audit quality.

With most of the TAO’s 11 personnel joining the office in 2022 and the Territorial Auditor, Mike Edmonds, being appointed to the head position just last month, the timing was optimal for familiarising staff with PASAI’s work in the Pacific Island region. This includes technical assistance with strategic audit planning, capability development in multiple audit streams and support to improve other aspects of operations such as human resources and external communications.

Ms Palamo-Iosefo discussed the results of an assessment of the TAO that had been completed using the internationally recognised Performance Measurement Framework. Such assessments identify areas for improvement in all areas of an audit office’s operations.

Advocacy of and support pursuing audit office independence are among PASAI’s top strategic priorities, so Ms Palamo-Iosefo also discussed the TAO’s approach to achieving true financial and operational independence to enable it to fully deliver its mandate.

Ms Palamo-Iosefo explained to staff the use of audit planning templates to comply with international auditing standards. Adherence to the standards enhances audit quality and ensures sustainability of audit practice.

Finally, in keeping with best practice, Ms Palamo-Iosefo completed a quality assurance review of one of the TAO’s performance audits.

Ms Palamo-Iosefo left with agreed action points and was satisfied the trip’s objectives had been met.

“We now have a good sense of the nuances of the TAO, its staff and the environment in which it operates,” 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).

Territorial Auditor, Mike Edmonds (centre) and PASAI Director Practice Development, Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo (second from right, front row) with staff from the American Samoa Government Territorial Audit Office

----END----

Contact information:

Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo, Director – Practice Development PASAI
E: sina.iosefo@pasai.org P: +64 9 304 1275

PDF version of this media release

Performance auditor with over 30 years of experience joins PASAI

Auckland, New Zealand: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) has welcomed an accomplished and very experienced performance audit professional, Mike Scott, to its Secretariat team.

Mr Scott was appointed to the new role of Director Performance Audit in time for him to attend the latest meeting of PASAI’s Governing Board on 7 and 8 November.

Among Mr Scott’s important duties is providing technical support to six of our member SAIs who are participating in a global cooperative audit of climate change adaptation actions.

He will also lead a quality assurance review programme, initially for nine of PASAI’s member offices, and develop a continuing education programme to build the capacity of performance auditors in the Pacific region.

Mr Scott comes to the Secretariat from, most recently, an audit and assurance managerial role at New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs, occasionally acting at a director level. This followed two years leading the Performance Team at New Zealand Police and coordinating performance audit training for the Australasian Council of Auditors-General (ACAG).

Prior to that Mr Scott spent nearly 12 years as the Assistant Auditor-General of Performance Audit at the Office of the Auditor-General in New Zealand. This followed three years in other senior performance audit roles there.

However, Mr Scott started his lengthy audit career back in 1987, spending 17 years in a variety of roles at the National Audit Office of the United Kingdom.  

PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa, is pleased to have Mr Scott join the Secretariat staff.

“Mike’s breadth of performance audit experience in multiple audit offices and government agencies, coupled with his achievements coordinating ACAG training, make him ideally suited to this new role at PASAI,” she said.

Mr Scott expressed his own enthusiasm for the role, saying, “I am excited and privileged to join PASAI and contribute to the great support that it provides to Pacific auditors.”

When not on overseas missions, Mr Scott will primarily work from his home office north of Wellington, New Zealand. This is similar to the arrangements for three other PASAI directors who are regionally based in Fiji, Guam and Samoa.

Mr Scott qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1991 and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (FCPFA). He is a member of the Greytown Volunteer Fire Brigade, and eagerly follows professional rugby and football competitions.

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).

 

Mike Scott

 

----END----

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

Pacific Island auditors trained to strengthen government entity compliance

Auckland, New Zealand: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) is training more Pacific Island government audit office staff to conduct compliance audits to international standards from this week.

Sixty-four staff (33 female, 31 male) from supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in American Samoa, Fiji, FSM Pohnpei, FSM Yap, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu are participating in the six part-day, online workshop from 25 to 29 September and 2 October 2023.

PASAI programme directors, Susana Laulu, Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo and Meresimani Vosawale-Katuba, are facilitating the eight-module workshop covering all phases of the compliance audit process.

Ms Laulu explained compliance audits are meant to enhance public sector and government entity compliance with laws, regulations, executive directives, policies and procedures.

“The training will cover the main concepts of compliance audit, how to identify potential audit topics and the different phases of the audit process from planning, gathering evidence, evaluating evidence and forming conclusions, to reporting audit findings and following up implementation of audit observations.

“It highlights the importance of understanding the country’s governance ecosystem in identifying significant areas to be considered as potential topics for a compliance audit as well as those factors that will ensure a quality audit is conducted effectively and efficiently,” she said.

It is envisioned that by ensuring Pacific Island auditors are trained to conduct compliance audits in accordance with international standards and best practices, government accountability, transparency and integrity will be strengthened in the longer term.

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).

----END----

Contact information:

Susana Laulu, Programme Director PASAI, Auckland, New Zealand
E: susana.laulu@pasai.org P: +64 9 304 1275

PDF version of this media release

Annual Report now available

The PASAI Annual Report 2022–23, along with copies of past reports, is now available on the Annual Reports page. It was approved by members at PASAI’s Annual General Meeting on 8 September 2023.

We report on our progress using our Performance Reporting Framework. This includes comprehensive reporting on 27 performance measures related to our five Strategic Priorities. PASAI’s financial statements for the year ending 30 June 2023 are also appended to the report.

PASAI’s 35th Governing Board meeting

Auckland, New Zealand: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) held its 35th Governing Board meeting online on 8 September 2023.

John Ryan, Secretary-General PASAI and Auditor-General of New Zealand, chaired the meeting attended by all board members, PASAI Secretariat staff and a representative from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

The Governing Board endorsed the Annual Report and Financial Statements for presentation at the Annual General Meeting of PASAI Incorporated, held later that day. Staff from RSM New Zealand joined the meeting to explain to board members what they audited and to express their “unmodified” (clean) opinion of PASAI’s accounts and performance reporting for the financial year ending 30 June 2023.

The Governing Board also received a presentation of the indicators against which PASAI measures its progress.

Work developing PASAI’s next 10-year Strategic Plan continued, with board members providing feedback on draft strategic priorities. Esther Lameko-Poutoa, Chief Executive PASAI, provided members with a forecasted budget for this period.

A report of the independent evaluation undertaken by Tetra Tech International Development was tabled at the meeting. The findings and recommendations of the report informed the drafting of the future Strategic Plan.

The Secretariat expresses its gratitude to the Governing Board members for their ongoing assistance and acknowledges the support of its development partners, MFAT and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

----END----

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

Free online introduction course on environmental auditing running again

INTOSAI’s Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) is again running its course, Introduction to Environmental Auditing in the Public Sector.

Developed by project lead, the National Audit Office of Estonia, in close collaboration with various supreme audit institutions, the online training is offered in English through the University of Tartu.

The aim of this course is to give an overview of the main environmental management principles, discuss the importance and complexity of the concept of sustainable development, introduce the most common governance tools that are used in environmental management, and put all this into a practical environmental auditing context.

The course takes place from 25 September to 22 October 2023, is fully online, free of charge and self-paced. Performance auditors can get more information and register online.

Participants who successfully complete all tasks will receive a digital certificate from the University of Tartu.

North Pacific auditors gather in Guam to learn the fundamentals of scrutinising government expenditure

Hagåtña, Guam: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) is training entry-level government audit office staff from the north Pacific on the fundamentals of public sector auditing this week.

Twenty-three staff (14 female, nine male) from supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in the Federated States of Micronesia and its four states of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap; Guam; the Marshall Islands; the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau are participating in the five-day face-to-face workshop from 21 to 25 August 2023.

PASAI programme directors, Doris Flores Brooks and Susana Laulu, are delivering the training with the Supervising Accountability Auditor, Vincent Duenas, of the Office of Public Accountability in Guam.

Including local senior staff in the facilitation team will build the capacity at the SAI to facilitate in-house training.

The comprehensive training includes modules on the role of SAIs, the public financial management system, key phases of the audit process, auditing standards and stakeholder communication. Participants will also deliver their own presentations during the workshop.

PASAI Chief Executive, Esther Lameko-Poutoa summarised the training, saying, “All public sector auditors need to understand the framework for and elements of public sector auditing.

“Knowing about the role of SAIs, who the key stakeholders are, the ethical responsibilities, the whole audit process and other information about the public sector enables auditors to carry out their responsibilities effectively and efficiently.”

By the end of the workshop, participants should have an increased understanding of what a SAI does, its role in providing external scrutiny of public sector activities and finances, the audit process, auditing standards and the different types of 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).

----END----

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

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

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).

----END----

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

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).

----END----

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