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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

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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.

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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.

Audit Report No 2023-02

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.

Media Release No. 2023-02

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