Caribbean chapters better placed for self development, management
-Seeram
PRESIDENT of the Guyana Chapter of the Internal Institute of Auditors (IIA), Mr. John Seeram, said last Saturday that Caribbean chapters are better placed to develop and manage themselves.
He was speaking at the end of a Guyana hosted Caribbean Regional Workshop for internal auditors, under the theme ‘Tools and Techniques’. The programme addressed the management of a chapter, accounting for a chapter’s finances, services that members can obtain and training for its speakers, among others.
Seeram said the primary objective of the exercise was to enhance the development of the Caribbean chapters in promoting the profession of internal auditors.
He noted that, for the local chapter, several changes will have to be made, including to focus on the by-laws, the development of a three to five years strategic plan, improving the functionality of its committees and restarting the publication of the newsletter.
“The Chapter will continue to advocate internal audit to stakeholders,”
he affirmed, adding that other chapters, like Guyana’s, have acquired something significant to be used for their general improvement.
The other participating countries were Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Cayman Islands and Seeram confirmed that the response was good and a particular “plus” for Guyana.
Facilitating the exercise was Mrs. Claire Gomez-Miller, who told the Guyana Chronicle that each IIA Chapter has its own unique challenge and the workshop served to highlight them and, together as a region, arrive at solutions with certain similarities.
She explained that the work of the chapters ensures that the profession is promoted and members’ practice is aligned to the standards of the global IIA.

REVAMPED
Gomez-Miller said, however, that the chapters need to be revamped.
She said, currently, on a scale of one to five, the performances of the IIA chapters in the Caribbean fluctuate between two and four.
“There are some that do well, but there are also some that are struggling,” Gomez-Miller assessed, suggesting that there needs to be increasing support from the corporate world for the IIA chapters.
“Guyana has come a long way. Two years ago, the chapter was pretty much dormant but a lot of work has been done…there is still a long way to go and here is where the corporate support comes in,” she said.
Gomez-Miller said support from the corporate companies to help build the internal audit profession, is a most quintessential function.
“The focus of the workshop was, essentially, the strategic direction we want to take to revamp our chapters,” she said.
IIA District Representative, Mr. Lucas Delgado, from Puerto Rico, agreed and posited that, in total, there are nine chapters in the Caribbean – The Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Turks and Caicos, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
“We are looking to have the Cayman Islands join us and they participated in the workshop so they could have an idea of the requirements,” he said.
Delgado said St. Lucia is also looking to come on board.
He remarked that, due to recent frauds, the internal audit function has become even more important.