PASAI SECRETARIAT LOCKDOWN PERIOD DUE TO COVID-19

An important message from PASAI Chief Executive - Mr Tiofilusi Tiueti

All our countries and our people are affected by this calamity. Each of our countries has put out strict preventive measures to protect and counter the spread of the coronavirus. PASAI also acknowledge and grateful for the ongoing support from your respective organisations to Pacific countries to strengthen their internal resources to fight against this pandemic.

As you may be aware, on Tuesday, 23 March 2020, New Zealand went into alert level 3 and moving to alert level 4 in 48 hours. This means a national lockdown by today, Wednesday 24 March 2020 for four (4) weeks, and non-essential services are to work from home. The four (4) weeks lockdown could be longer so we will keep you updated as things evolve.

Because of that, the PASAI Secretariat office lockdown was effective from the close of business yesterday, Tuesday 24 March 2020. PASAI staff are now working from home and will be for the next four weeks or until the lockdown period is lifted. However, please note that we are still working as usual and accessible to any of our staff can still be made via work emails, telecon (to our mobile numbers), skype etc.  Please don’t call the office telephone number as there is no one at the office to answer your call.   

The lockdown also means that the delivery of some of our planned programs will be deferred/delayed to a future period, which we will confirm once we have some degree of certainty. Meanwhile, PASAI is taking this as an opportunity to explore innovative ways to deliver our programs, liaise with SAIs to prioritise programs, and strengthen resources in the Secretariat to be able to respond to SAI needs at times of adversity, as we are now.  

To ensure we continue planning, each of the PASAI Directors continued to liaise with the member SAIs to obtain updated information on the SAI situation in terms of ability to interact on a program especially if part of that program is to be delivered online/remotely.

We understand that it is a fluid situation and evolves rapidly day by day. However, we will continue to find ways to continue delivering programs to meet SAI needs and will come out stronger.

Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me at tiofilusi.tiueti@pasai.org.

We wish that you all continue to stay safe during these uncertain times.

The PASAI Secretariat Team

25 March 2020

SOLOMON ISLANDS OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL STRIVE TOWARDS AUDIT QUALITY

Honiara, Solomon Islands (25 March 2020) – Solomon Islands Office of the Auditor General (SIOAG) is the second Pacific SAI to receive support from the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institution (PASAI), as part of a regional program to build the capacity of auditors in conducting the audit of the Financial Statements of Government (FSGs), in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs). Facilitated and led by PASAI’s Director Technical Support, A’eau Agnes Aruwafu, the workshop was delivered on 9-20 March 2020 to SIOAG staff in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Mr. Peter Lokay, Auditor-General of the Solomon Islands opened the workshop reinforcing his focus on the need for quality audits through building of auditor’s skills and knowledge in conducting high-quality financial audits according to ISSAIs. The workshop started by  providing an overview of the ISSAI requirements and describing the proposed “Solomon Islands Methodology” (S.I.M). Participants then conducted an assessment of the existing audit practice using the iCAT-FA[1] tool,  identified gaps, and suggested improvements to the SIOAG’s audit methodology.   This resulted in an update and refinement of the audit practice including giving the audit methodology an acronym “S.I.M” which stands for “Solomon Islands Methodology”.  The productive discussions at the workshop was a catalyst for some excellent insight that resulted in the development of the TeamMate template under the new Solomon Islands Methodology. 

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the second week of the workshop. A  needed COVID-19 SAI awareness meeting, compulsory for all staff, was held and presented by the Deputy Auditor-General, Ms. Rachel McKechnie. Also,  the PASAI’s Director Technical Support was recalled back to Auckland, two days earlier than planned.  Despite the unexpected developments, SIOAG capable team were highly motivated to continue the workshop, under the remote guidance of the Director Technical Support,   for the remaining two days.  An excellent outcome amidst adversity - highlighting the excellent work ethic of the SIOAG staff and their commitment to take ownership and  strive towards audit quality.

Learning from the first rollout of this program in SAI Tuvalu, the experience and lessons learned helped inform the approach for SAI Solomon Islands.  The understanding of the use of TeamMate as a tool within the audit practice will inform the approach to be rolled out in other SAIs that use Teammate, such as Fiji,  Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu  – all of whom are dedicated to working towards high-quality audits in compliance with ISSAIs.

Following this intervention, a quality assurance peer review will be conducted by participating SAIs in this regional program to ascertain whether the learnings from the workshop have been applied to the FSGs audit and the objective of this programme has been achieved.

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Background:

This program is part of a roadmap for PASAI and its member SAIs to give full effect to the Strategic Priority 3 (SP3) of PASAI’s Long Term Strategy 2014-2024 (“Strategy”), for the second half of the Strategy’s term (i.e. from 2019 to 2024).  The Roadmap is part of the PASAI approach to SAI Support for 2019-2024 which was presented to the Government Board in August 2019.   In particular, this program will focus on building sustainable capacity for SAIs to enable them to conduct audits according to the International Standards of Auditing according to their authoritative standards (that is: ISSAIs or ISA).   Furthermore, other PASAI programs will contribute to the high quality of audits to ensure sustainability within the SAI and also highlights the interdependencies between PASAI Strategic Priorities. The need for this program is driven by the SAI Needs that were obtained during the 2019 PASAI Congress and through ongoing dialogue with the PASAI Secretariat. 

[1] ISSAI Compliance Assessment Tool for Financial Audit (iCAT-FA)

Refer to full MEDIA RELEASE DOCUMENT Click on this link

Contact information:

1.       Mr. Tiofilusi Tiueti, Chief Executive PASAI, Auckland, New Zealand. E: Tiofilusi.tiueti@pasai.org

Website: www.pasai.org

 2.       Mrs. A’eau Agnes Aruwafu, Director Technical Support PASAI, Auckland, New Zealand. E: agnes.aruwafu@pasai.org P:+64 9 304 1275

Auditor-General of Solomon Islands & Workshop participants & PASAI Director Technical Support [in front of SAI office]

New Chief Executive for PASAI announced

The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) Governing Board announces the appointment of Esther Lameko-Poutoa as the PASAI Secretariat Chief Executive. Esther will start her new role on 1 May 2020. A short profile of Esther is provided below.

The current Chief Executive, Tiofilusi Tiueti, was appointed for a five-year period on a fixed-term contract in May 2015. The Chief Executive recruitment process involved an extensive international search, and the outcome is supported by the full membership of the Governing Board.

The Governing Board recognises the significant contribution and many achievements of the Secretariat under Tio’s leadership. During this time, the activity and impact of the Secretariat has moved forward significantly. As a result, there are many outcomes over the last five years that will continue to strengthen public financial management in the region. A strong foundation for the second phase of the 2014-2024 Strategic Plan has been established.

The Governing Board thanks Tio for the depth of his commitment to PASAI’s mission values and goals, and his dedication at all times. The Governing Board wishes Tio well for his future endeavours and hopes that he will continue to use his vast skills to contribute to development in the Pacific.

Esther will work with Tio to ensure a smooth transition throughout May 2020. Tio will be formally recognised during the PASAI Congress in Palau in August 2020.

Esther Lameko-Poutoa profile - Esther is a Chartered Accountant who has been in public practice in Samoa for three years. She worked in Samoa’s public sector for 25 years at the Office of the Controller & Auditor General and more recently served nine years as CEO of the Samoa National Provident Fund. She holds a master’s degree in business and technology, and an undergraduate degree in accounting and financial management. She has wide-ranging experience in auditing, financial management, governance, public policy, business strategy, and development. She has been instrumental in implementing positive change while building the performance and capacity of the entities she has served.

This announcement is made on behalf of the PASAI Governing Board by: Ajay Nand (Auditor-General, Fiji Controller and Chair, PASAI) and John Ryan (Auditor-General, New Zealand and Secretary-General, PASAI).

Contact information: Sarah Markley, Deputy Secretary-General, PASAI and Director International Engagement, Office of the Auditor-General of New Zealand. E: sarah.markley@oag.parliament.nz P: +64 21 222 8449

Office of the Chuuk State Public Auditor releases a Debt Relief Fund Report

PRESS RELEASE NO. 2019 - 02

The Office of the Chuuk State Public Auditor (OCPA) announces the release of Audit Report No. 2019-02, a performance audit entitled CHUUK STATE DEBT RELIEF FUND: No Clear Plan on how to Retire $13 Million Liabilities for Claims and Judgments and Other Payables which covered fiscal years 2009 to 2018. Reports may be made available by request to any interested individual at the OCPA in Nantaku, Weno, Chuuk. The Public Auditor’s authority is based on the Chuuk State Constitution Article VIII Section 9 and Truk State Law 6-21 which states in part: “The Auditor shall conduct audits of all financial transactions of all branches, departments, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the government, and of all accounts kept by or for them.” We conducted the performance audit in accordance with US General Audit Standards. The objectives of this audit included determining whether the records of debt payments and payables under the DRF are properly maintained; and, determining whether the Task Force was effective in retiring all the Chuuk State debts and payables under the DRF. The results of the audit disclosed the following findings: Finding 1 – The Records of Debts or Payables under Debt Relief Fund were not properly maintained Finding 2 –No clear plan on how to retire $13 Million Liabilities for Claims and Judgments and other Payables which have been accumulating. Further, this amount was not transparent to Public because it was not reported and reflected in the Financial Statement. The Debt Relief Task Force and the Department of Administrative Services submitted their Management Responses which were in agreement to the findings and recommendations.

You can access the full audit report here (click here)

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Office of the Chuuk State Public Auditor

P.O Box B Weno, Chuuk FM 96942 Tel: 691.330.8832/8835; Fax 691.330.8840

Website: http://www.fmocpa.com

PASAI’s 22nd Governing Board meeting 27 to 28 February 2020

The 22nd Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) Governing Board meeting was held in Auckland, New Zealand from 27 – 28 February, 2020. Mr. Ajay Nand, Auditor-General of Fiji is the current Chairperson of the PASAI Governing Board. PASAI development partners from MFAT, DFAT, the European Union and the World Bank attended and also the PASAI Secretariat staff as observers. Governing Board member details can be found here: https://www.pasai.org/pasai-governing-board

The Governing Board discussed strategic, governance, and operational issues which included the proposed PASAI’s Operational Plan 2020/21, related budget and updates to operations, policies and procedure. PASAI’s proposed programs designed in response to SAI member needs were commended and endorsed. A new approach to embed monitoring and evaluation in program delivery and design was also commended.

The PASAI Secretariat express their gratitude to the Governing Board members for their ongoing support, and acknowledge the development partners for their continued support of PASAI and its work in the region.

Mr Ajay Nand opens the Governing Board meetings and welcomes members and observers

L-R: Ms Sarah Markley (Deputy Secretary-General, Director of International Engagement, NZ OAG), Mr John Ryan (Secretary-General, New Zealand Controller & Auditor-General), Mr Ajay Nand (Chairperson, Fiji Auditor-General), Mr Satrunino Tewid (Incoming Chair, Palau Public Auditor).

The 22nd Governing Board meeting in session

The 22nd Governing Board meeting in session