The Auditor General of the Republic of Cyprus was hitherto the sole auditor of statutory bodies. A recent amendment to the Statutory Bodies Law (Audit of Accounts) authorises appointment of private professional auditors for audit of these bodies under the supervision of the Auditor General. The ultimate responsibility for audit and reporting to the House of Representatives continues to be vested with the Auditor General.
The Office of the State Comptroller of Israel has decided to prepare a new audit manual for its work, after several years of discussion. The manual is not intended to be a 'how to ' manual or to provide a check list, rather it intends to clarify to the auditor what he ought to do and why, in certain situations and issue-areas, or what to do in order to carry out his task effectively.
The manual has five chapters - the first dealing with the definitions, objectives and scope of state audit and organisation of the office; the second with audit management - planning, methodology, supervision; the third with reporting and follow-up; the fourth with audit in frequently audited issue-areas; and the fifth with the major areas of audit such as government ministries, public enterprises and local authorities The manual is expected to be published this year.
Mr. Tsutomu Ohkubo
President, Board of Audit Japan.
Mr. Tsutomu Ohkubo, Commissioner of the Board of Audit of Japan since 1980 was appointed President of the Board on October 25,1985 succeeding Mr. Hideo Kaffiada who retired on the expiry of his tenure.
Mr. Ohkubo entered the House of Representatives in 1945 after graduation from the Tokyo University. He subsequently held the Offices of Director of the Maintenance Department and the Committee Department. In 1976, he was elected Secretary General of the House of Representatives.
In a related action, Mr. kiyoshi Nakumura, Secretary General of the Board has been appointed as Commissioner of the Board.
The President of the Audit Bureau of Kuwait Mr. Paris Abdul Rahman A-Wagayan has on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the Audit Bureau published a booklet describing the objectives, competences, duties and activities of the Bureau. The publication also includes the Audit Law.
Tan Sri Ahmad Noordin Bin Haji Zakaria, Auditor General of Malaysia has received the 1985 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service. The award is presented by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation of the Philippines and is considered the Asian equivalent of Nobel Prize. The Board of Trustees, in announcing the award on August 1, 1985, said that "Tan Sri Ahmad Noordin is recognised for effective fearless exposure of inefficiency and corruption in government, making a reality of public Accountability."
Tan Sri Ahmad Noordin is a member of the Governing Board of INTOSAl and Secretary General of ASOSAI.
The Annual Audit Reports of the Auditor General, Pakistan for 1983-84 were issued in June, 1985. These are in eight compilations covering different spheres of Federal Government's operations, the main emphasis of
audit being laid on systems and procedures. The process of evaluation of public sector enterprises as well as Government project is under process and nine such units have been evaluated during the year.
The State Audit Institution (S.A.I.) of U.A.E. has issued its third General Report. The report interalia deals with some of the main problems faced by the financial and administrative departments of the State and other Corporations, the reasons therefor and solutions thereto. It also contains evaluation of the performance of the activities of the Administrative, Economic and Subsidised Corporations vis-a-vis their objectives.
The S.A.I, has also drawn up plans for completion of audit of all Ministries, Departments and Corporations subject to its control till the end of the financial year 1985 (1.7.85 to 30.6.86).
A Seminar on 'Audit of Public Enterprises' was held in Seoul, Korea from September 3-14, 1985. This was the third ASOSAI Seminar hosted by the Board of Inspection, Korea since 1983 and was attended by twenty-eight delegates from seventeen ASOSAI member countries and two other countries.
India organised a seven-week training programme on 'Audit of Public Works' for Asian and African countries from January 13 to March 1, 1986. Twentyfive officers from seventeen countries participated in the programme