Over the past few years, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has been faced with an ever-increasing deluge of information contained in reports, correspondence, circulars, periodicals, and other publications. It has become more and more difficult to gain quick access to a particular piece of information. A positive step taken towards solving this problem was the setting up of a committee in 1981 to plan the development of an integrated management information system, known by the acronym ADMIRAS (Audit Department Management Information Recording and Access System). One of the first tasks of this committee was to identify OAG's information requirements.
A number of management information system necessary for the managing of resources and for the planning, implementing and monitoring of programs have been identified. The systems which have since been developed or are in the process of being developed are:
During the preliminary discussions to identify the information needs of the OAG, it was also decided that with the current availability of computer technology in the market the integrated management information so designed should be computerbased as there was definitely such a need in terms of speed and volume of data. At the time these deliberations were taking place, word processors were introduced in the OAG to overcome delays in typing and retyping of drafts of numerous long form audit reports and letters incorporating changes in language, style and report formats during the processing stages. The word processors came with a Records Management System (RMS) software package. This RMS package is a readymade suite of programs which provides for the definition, creation, revision and deletion of files and data bases and enables the selection, retrieval and merging of data to produce various information reports. The facilities and features offered by the package have been used to design and develop three systems so far.
The Objective of this system is to reduce the time taken to access articles on technical matters in magazines and journals available in the Office and eventually in other Government agencies and tertiary institutions. This system has been developed using the RMS software based on the assumption that access to the articles can, be made through carefully selected keywords.
This system was developed for the purpose of maintaining an up-to-date index of circulars/circular letters issued by various Government Departments and to facilitate easy and speedy access to these documents. Like the Articles Indexing System, this system has also been developed on the RMS software package providing access through selected keywords.
The need for ready access to status reports of numerous client agencies has made it necessary to design a data base of relevant information including historical and financial data of every authority and agency whose accounts are audited by the Auditor General. This facility would aid management in the effective planning of audits and work programs. Reports on financial information of the clients can be produced on a periodic basis and as and when requested. This system is also maintained using the RMS package.
The budget and reporting system is aimed at monitoring the OAG's expenditure against budget at various audit branches/sections, and also to produce timely management reports on total operating expenditure, overhead costs of audits undertaken so that reviews on budget can be done periodically.
Files and records are maintained in OAG offices throughout the country. The indexing and referencing of files on similar subject matters outside Headquarters have not been properly integrated. The system is there-fore being streamlined with the help of RMS, to ensure a meaningful, uniform and integrated classification system for ease of identification, storage, application and access to all kinds of data.
This system is planned so as to aid management at various levels in evaluating work accomplished in comparison with planned targets and cost estimates. It also provides information for diagnosing deviations from budgeted results and helps in the planning of future programs and in the management of personnel and other resources.
With the development of this system, up-to-date information on personnel records and staff training can be easily obtainable. This will aid management in planning career development of all audit staff.
The OAG is also now planning to acquire microcomputers for the next stage in further expanding and upgrading the management information system and also to provide 'hands on' experience and training to audit staff in understanding and appreciating the capabilities of the micro-computer.