IN a bid to improve its operational effectiveness and efficiency, the Audit Office of Guyana is in the process of upgrading its systems so as to get the job done with less paperwork.This is according to Auditor-General Deodat Sharma, who at a recent function said that part of a US$488,073 grant acquired through an agreement between the government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will go towards developing the material necessary to achieve the required change, using TeamMate audit-management software.

“With the evolution of Information Technology,” he said, “we are aiming to work in a paperless environment, and will be implementing an audit management software (TeamMate) to improve the efficiency and productivity in our audit process.”
This latest agreement between the government and the IDB, Sharma said, is currently ongoing with one of its main objectives being “improving the operational effectiveness and efficiency” of the office, via “applied information technology for audit business, with special emphasis on reducing document-retrieval time, as well as condensing the amount of paper stored; that is, moving to a paperless environment.”
He is confident that the implementation of the audit-management software, which covers the entire audit process, and is being used in countries such as Jamaica and Canada, will accomplish those objectives.
Technical capacities in areas such as information technology, performance auditing, procurement auditing and forensic accounting and fraud investigations will also be strengthened through the project.
And to facilitate collaboration with the work of the audit office, awareness campaigns will be launched to inform stakeholders of its roles and functions, with emphasis on the value of audit work for better use of public resources.
He said his office would continue capacity-building initiatives, specifically in areas of performance, information technology, and procurement audits, as well as forensic accounting and fraud investigations and intends to reach stakeholders especially in the hinterland regions.

By Shauna Jemmott