By Annie Subactagin-Matto, Director – Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting, PASAI

The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our traditional way of working. With an increased need to monitor the unprecedented public expenditure and procurement related to COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, it is critical that SAIs continue to operate effectively in a remote working environment to detect fraud and ensure accountability of public funds.

In a national or regional lockdown situation, the necessity to work remotely provides us with both a challenge and an opportunity to leverage digital technology to re-shape the way we work – as individuals and collaboratively across teams. This blog explores how we can use technology solutions and tools to operate effectively and thrive in an environment of constant change.

Creating a collaborative online platform: core digital technologies and tools  

There is a pressing need for SAIs to establish and maintain a base of core digital technologies and online tools (a “tech stack”) that enable audit teams to work collaboratively and productively while operating from different locations. Given the varying IT capability and capacity across Pacific SAIs, there are a range of tools that may be considered by SAIs to plug existing gaps and enhance online collaboration.

The following user-friendly tools are examples of solutions that you may be able to integrate into your existing SAI software without the need for complex or expensive system changes. These tools can be used by SAI staff to:

· work collaboratively as a team - share files, manage projects and workflow, host and record audio and video meetings. The tool we suggest is Microsoft (MS) Teams as it allows this functionality and enables users to create separate channels for each team or stream of work. Users can also direct message individuals to facilitate specific (and group) conversations. MS Teams is easy to install and integrates well with the Office 365 suite of software. It also works well with weak to moderate internet coverage.

· host a video conference by using a dedicated URL. Zoom is an audio/video conferencing platform that also allows users to call in by phone and provides options for recording and transcribing conversations. Users can share their screens with other meeting attendees enabling them all to view the document being discussed. It is also an effective tool to deliver online training sessions and workshops. Zoom allows free use for meetings up to 40 minutes, and requires a business subscription for longer meetings. Zoom may not perform well with a weak internet connection.

· enable simultaneous update of a document by multiple users while working from different locations - without having to email different versions of the same document to your team. For example, Microsoft SharePoint allows multiple users to access and edit a single document at the same time, allowing for efficient version control and editing. MS SharePoint works well with the Office 365 suite of software and can be accessed without an upgrade to the SAI IT system. This tool works well with a weak to moderate internet coverage.

· manage, access and transfer files. The tool we suggest is Dropbox. It can be used as a secure knowledge management system, in which security settings can be actively managed to ensure secure access and editing rights are provided to staff who require it. Dropbox operates well in environments with varying internet coverage.

· store and easily access large amounts of data - cloud file storage solutions are useful option to make your data more accessible, and works well with varying internet coverage . Two examples of cloud storage platforms are Google Drive and Dropbox. Although Dropbox is also feature-rich, Google Drive offers more storage space (15 GB versus only 2GB on Dropbox) on the free version. Caution is advised to manage data security – covered in an upcoming blog on managing cyber risk.

· scan and share documents using a smartphone or tablet. Scannable (by Evernote) is a tool that captures high quality images that can be saved and shared via email and Google Drive. Easy to use, reduces the need for access to equipment that you might not be able to easily access in the Office during lockdown or restricted access periods and works well with varying internet coverage.

Developing a digital strategy: a phased approach to building ICT capacity and capability

Given the varied SAI IT capability and resources available across the Pacific region, SAIs may want to consider a phased approach to gradually build their “tech stack” and staff capability to use these tools effectively.

A digital strategy and action plan are useful internal governance and planning documents to map this transition and to identify infrastructural and IT assets required (such as a more robust internet connection and a VPN to enable remote access to a secure intranet storing work folders) and the need to build IT capability within SAIs - including expertise and IT solutions to mitigate cyber security risks.

Planning for and building a scalable and resilient IT infrastructure will ensure SAI business continuity enabling effective operations in a changing environment requiring remote work. This will ensure that SAIs continue to provide a credible voice and ensure good governance and accountability in the Pacific region.

 What’s next?

Stay tuned to read more about the following ICT-related topics forthcoming in our blog series:

·       Managing cyber risk

·       Staying productive in a remote working environment

·       Ensuring staff wellbeing in an online setting.

We welcome your feedback and look forward to hearing about other priority topic areas of interest to you. Please email: secretariat@pasai.org

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The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) is the official association of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in the Pacific region, and a regional organisation of INTOSAI and promotes transparent, accountable, effective and efficient use of public sector resources in the Pacific.  It contributes to that goal by helping its member SAIs improve the quality of public sector auditing in the Pacific to recognised high standards.  Due to the global coronavirus pandemic (COVID19), this has restricted PASAI’s delivery of our programs to our Pacific members and in lieu of this PASAI will be providing a series of blogs on various topics that may help auditors think about some implications to service delivery as a result of COVID19.  

For more information about PASAI refer www.pasai.org