International Journal of Government Auditing–July 2004
Eighth SPASAI Congress
The South Pacific Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (SPASAI) held its 8th Congress in Apia, Samoa, from May 24-28, 2004. Hosted by the Controller and Chief Auditor of the Government of Samoa Audit Office, the Congress drew 23 delegates from 15 audit offices in the Pacific region as well as representatives from the INTOSAI Secretariat, the INTOSAI Development Initiative, and the National Audit Office of China.
The 8th Congress of SPASAI opened on May 24, 2004, with the membership welcoming the 22nd SPASAI member, the Territorial Audit Office of American Samoa. Mr. Paul Allsworth, Auditor-General of the Cook Islands, then handed over the presidency of SPASAI to Mr. Tamaseu Warren, Controller and Chief Auditor of Samoa.
During the business session, members voted to hold a Congress annually, rather than biannually. Dr. Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa, Auditor-General of Tonga, will host the 2005 Congress.
The SPASAI Regional Institutional Strengthening Committee met prior to the Congress. This meeting was attended by the auditors-general of the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Tuvalu.
First Congressional Session
The first session, moderated by Dr. Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa, Auditor-General of Tonga, addressed Performance Management and Government Reforms. Members discussed their countries’ progress in reporting and auditing performance information, the appropriate role of audit offices in government reform, and the need for audit offices to review proposed government reforms. Further discussion centered on accessing information for benchmarking and comparative analysis during performance audits. It was noted that variations in systems that capture performance information can affect the consistency and usefulness of this information.
Second Congressional Session
The second session, moderated by Mr. Bob Sendt, Auditor-General of New South Wales, Australia, was on Developments in Environmental Auditing—Problems and Solutions. Delegates discussed how auditing can help governments prevent environmental degradation. It was noted that environmental auditing can help to balance national development with adverse environmental impact. The many papers submitted by SPASAI members on this topic revealed the varied interpretations of environmental auditing in the SPASAI community. Many members are undertaking environmental auditing in the form of performance audits, although some members reported conducting compliance audits.
Third Congressional Session
The third session, moderated by Mr. David Reid, General Manager, Financial Audit of Victoria, Australia, dealt with Audit Evidence in an Electronic or Paperless Environment and covered the expanding use of information technology in auditing. The importance of information technology controls, the use of computer-assisted audit techniques and software for evidence gathering, the timing of audit procedures, and types of audit evidence and procedures were also explored.
Training Workshops
The Congress was followed by two training workshops. Audit of Public Debt was led by Mr. Ajay Nand, Acting Director of Audit, Office of the Auditor-General of Fiji, and a member of the INTOSAI Public Debt Committee. Forensic Auditing was led by Mr. Gib Beattie, Assistant Director of Investigations, and Mr. Stephen Drain, Investigator, New Zealand Serious Fraud Office. Attendees included staff from the Government of Samoa Audit Office. Both topics were identified in the SPASAI Regional Institutional Strengthening Plan as areas of interest. A generous contribution by the INTOSAI Development Initiative made this training possible.
For additional information on the 8th SPASAI Congress, please see the SPASAI Web site at http://www.oag.govt.nz/HomePageFolders/SPASAI/SPASAIHome.htm.