The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) was in the Solomon Islands last week delivering a communications workshop for the Solomon Islands Office of the Auditor-General (SIOAG). The aim of the workshop was to assist the Office of the Auditor- General to develop a SAI Communications Strategy to effectively communicate with its stakeholders. The workshop also trained auditors on how to write clear, concise and simple audit reports that would enable audit findings to be communicated more effectively to Parliament, the Public Accounts Committee, audit entities, the media and the general public.

The four-day workshop commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 2017 with a total of 23 participants comprising of financial auditors, performance auditors and corporate services staff of the SIOAG. Mr Peter Lokay, Auditor-General of the Solomon Islands opened the workshop and welcomed the participants emphasizing, “Our corporate plan requires us to make a difference to our citizens. This workshop fits in well with our corporate plan. I hope that by the end of this workshop you will all be able to communicate and promote the value and benefit of our SAI.”

Participants learnt how to identify and analyse key stakeholders for their SAI and how towrite a communication strategy to effectively communicate the value and benefit of theirwork to make a difference in the Solomon Islands public service. The second half of the workshop was spent on learning how to write clear, concise and simple audit reports to communicate audit findings, as well as how to write media releases. Public speaking and using social media to communicate audit results was also covered. Participants stated, “The session helped a lot towards report writing” and “This training is useful and can help me improve my communication skills”.  The response from all the participants was very positive.

The workshop concluded on Friday, 9 June 2017 with closing remarks from Counsellor Karyn Murray of the Australian High Commission in Honiara, saying “We are always keen to support the Auditor-General’s office as you do a great job and a very important job here in the Solomon Islands.  Take note of what you have learnt this week and use it.”

This workshop is the third SAI specific communications training that PASAI has delivered over the last 12 months with the aim to improve report writing and stakeholder engagement for its members. The training was co-facilitated by PASAI’s Director of Advocacy, Engagement and Financing, Aolele Su’a Aloese and PASAI’s Communications Advisor, Tina Vaka. The training was hosted by the Solomon Islands Office of the Auditor-General and supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).