THE recently-concluded Audit Report of the Auditor- General for the year 2014 will be tendered in the National Assembly when Parliament resumes on October 15.Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Barton Scotland made this disclosure yesterday as he received a report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, from the Office of the Auditor-General.
The document handed over by Auditor-General Deodat Sharma at the Public Buildings yesterday afternoon is the 11th such report.
The Speaker praised the timely delivery of the document, commenting, “It is very good to know that we are moving constantly on the manner in which we deal with such projects.” He said the report will be laid in the National Assembly in accordance with Article 223:3 of the laws of Guyana.
Dr. Scotland said the handing over of the report may seem to some as a simple ceremony, but it is a major activity which affects the major part of the work of the National Assembly.
Addressing the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Auditor General indicated that he alone could not have compiled the report, but credited his staff for their “relentless commitment”, the Ministry of Finance, the Accountant General and all accounting officers for responding to queries within the stipulated time frame.
MEETING STATUTORY DEADLINE
“It should be noted that we have met the statutory deadline for the last five reports… this is in keeping with our Mission Statement, which is to provide “timely reporting of the results to the legislature and ultimately the public,” the AG noted.
He listed the improvement in public accountability as part of the mission of the audit office.
“The mission of the audit office is to promote good governance, transparency and improved public accountability,” he said, adding that it is in this regard that noteworthy progress has been made to “modernise and strengthen the office,” with strong support from the government and international donor agencies.
He identified the signing of a Technical Cooperation Agreement between government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) earlier this year in the sum of US$488,073 as a significant source of support for the “continued modernisation and strengthening of the audit office.” The agreement is the fourth consecutive one since 2004.
Sharma also mentioned that in keeping with the regulations of the Audit Act, the Audit Office established a Forensic Audit Unit, through which staff members have benefited from frequent professional development programmes, and which over the years has delivered numerous reports.
The Auditor General said in relation to quality assurance, in keeping with its mission to execute high-quality audits and timely reporting to the legislature, “the Audit Office has commenced “controls-based audits” for which 28 officers received the relevant training.
Earlier this year the Auditor General’s office also signed an agreement with the Canadian Executive Services Organisation (CESO) for the provision of technical assistance, and the Canadian entity has already trained 16 officers in effecting Information Technology Audits.
Also under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme in India, five audit officers were also trained in various areas.
His office, he said, “continued to assist in the professional development of its staff by providing training materials, including textbooks and examination kits [which] have enabled a number of audit officers to pursue professional certification in the accounting field.” Eight audit officers, the AG noted, are on the verge of completing the accredited ACCA certification programme.
The Audit Office is also part of the Caribbean Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI), which is currently undertaking a “cooperative audit” of respective revenue agencies in the Region.
He said this participation has benefited his office through the “facilitation and sharing of best practices and methodologies, which is in keeping with CAROSAI’s aim of using “collaboration as a tool for promoting best SAI audit practices.” The CASOSAI team has met and shared similar methodologies to aid in the planning and execution of the audit,” he said, which was in progress at the time of reporting.
Two officers were also trained through the INTOSAI’s Development Initiative (IDI) on Information Technology Audits.
The Auditor General also made a commitment to continue the execution of performance audits consistent with its mandate to “ensure the provision of reports that will facilitate improvements in the operations of our clients.”
By Shauna Jemmott