An ASOSAI Workshop on Computer Auditing was hosted by SAI-Malaysia af Penang, Malaysia from May 21 to May 31, 1995. 31 participants from 22 SAIs participated in the Workshop, which had the following objectives :-
The Workshop included presentations and discussions on a wide variety of topics including IS audit management, general and application controls, performance audit of IS, audit involvement in system development, contingency planning, and use of Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs).
A workshop on "Performance Auditing" was organised at New Delhi by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India from September 4 to September 15, 1995 under the auspices of ASOSAI, the INTOSAI Development
Participants at the ASOSAI-IDI-ADB
Performance Audit Workshop
Initiative (IDI) and the Asian Development Bank. 27 representatives from 18 SAIs attended this workshop. The faculty for the workshop consisted of three instructors, one each from the SAIs of Canada, India and UK. This was the third IDI Workshop hosted by SAI-lndia, following the Training Managers Workshop and the Audit Testing Workshop held in 1988 and 1991 respectively.
At the 6th ASOSAI Assembly in New Delhi in November 1994, the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) presented a proposal for a Long Term Regional Training Programme covering the period 1996-2000 AD, with implementation of training programmes being more regional based. After discussions with IDI representatives, ASOSAI and IDI submitted a joint funding proposal to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the training programme in the Asian region for 1996-2000.
As reported in the 1995 issue of this journal, a team consisting of Mr. C.C.Somiah (Chairman-ASOSAI), Mr. Shinji Yazaki (Secretary General-ASOSAI), Mr. Celso D. Gangan (Chairman-Philippines Commission on Audit) and Mr. Yvan Gaudette (Executive Vice-President-IDI) met the ADB President in January 1995 at Manila in this connection. After further detailed discussions with ADB, the Governing Board of ASOSAI at its 22nd Meeting at Bangkok decided to nominate an existing non-profit foundation affiliated to the Board of Audit of Japan, the Government Auditing Foundation (GAF) as the Executing Agency for the Programme.
The main objectives of the programme are :-
The proposed programme consists of the following components :-
The proposal has been approved in principle by the Asian Development Bank, and the funding of the programme is in an advanced stage of finalisation.
During 1994-95, the Audit and Accounts Training Academy of SAI-Bangladesh organised seminars on "Foreign Aided Project Audit" and "Performance Audit Methodology". The Academy also arranged in 1995, discussion sessions involving officers of the SAI returning from training abroad. The trainees at the Academy for the 1994-95 session also undertook study tours to different parts of the country for observing the working of the regional accounts offices, district accounts offices and other district level government offices.
International Training Programmes
The International Training Centre of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, New Delhi which was set up in 1979 with a view to fulfilling one of the basic objectives of ASOSAI, namely providing facilities for training and continuing education for government auditors, has been organising three Participants at the International Training Programme on Audit of Transport Services
International Training Programmes every year in various audit disciplines for SAIs in the Asian, African and Pacific regions. These programmes are funded by the Government of India under the Technical Co-operation Scheme of the Colombo Plan, the Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan and the Indian Technical Economic Co-operation Programme.
Till 1994-95, the Centre had organised thirty two such programmes, involving 905 participants from 45 SAIs. During the financial year 1995-1996, SAI-lndia is organising International Training Programmes on the following topics :-
The International Training Centre is presently functioning from rented premises. Recently SAI-lndia has acquired a plot of land at New Delhi, for providing a permanent site for this centre. The new complex, spread over an area of 3 hectares, would be equipped with modern training facilities and amenities, and would enable SAI-lndia to further upgrade and expand its training infrastructure. Mr.C.G.Somiah, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, laid the foundation stone for this new centre on December 27, 1995.
IT Audit Training
For upgradation of skills in the field of auditing IT systems, SAI-lndia, in collaboration with the National Audit Office of U.K., had deputed a core group of fifteen officers to U.K. for a six week long training programme in 1995. Keeping in view the user requirements within the SAI, the members of this core group have, on their return from the training programme, prepared a Trainer's Guide and a Practitioner's Guide to IT Audit, with the objective of ensuring rapid dissemination of the skills and knowledge required for effectively auditing IT systems.
A Training Programme on "Evaluating Governmental Performance in the Field of Industrial Development" was organised at Baghdad by the Board of Supreme Audit of Iraq from October 22 to November 1, 1995. Fourteen participants from the SAIs of Algeria, Jordan, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen participated in the programme.
Participants in the Training Programme on "Evaluating Governmental
Performance
in the Field of Industrial Development, conducted by SAI-lraq
Participants at the Pakistan-ICCFM Conference on Public- Private
Partnership
for Economic Development: Challenges for Finance Managers
ICGFM Conference on Public- Private Partnership
A three day international conference on "Public- Private Partnership for Economic Development: Challenges for Finance Managers" was held at Lahore, Pakistan from November 13 to November 15, 1995 under the auspices of the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM). The Conference was organised jointly by the Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan.
The Conference was inaugurated by Rao Hashim Khan, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly. 250 detegates, including participants from Azerbaijan, Brunei, Georgia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, UK and USA attended the Conference. The presentations during the Conference covered the following subjects :-
Guest speakers at the Conference included Mr. James Hamilton, President of ICGFM, Mr. Bo Sandberg of the Swedish National Audit Office and Mr. Henk E. Koning, President of the Netherlands Court of Audit. The concluding session of the Conference was chaired by Mr. Yousaf Raza Gillani, Speaker of the National Assembly.
Audit and Accounts Training Institute
The Audit and Accounts Training Institute, established in 1962 at Lahore, provides training in the field of government accounting and auditing to the employees of SAI-Pakistan. The Institute conducts long-term courses for training its probationary officers, who join the SAI under the national scheme of recruitment for superior services, as also for preparing departmental employees for in-service promotion examinations. The Institute also conducts several short-term courses in the areas of accounting, auditing, management and EDP. The Institute also offers training slots to participants from other SAIs in various short term courses, covering areas such as :-
Several participants from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Turkey have participated in these training programmes.
A Seminar on 'Budget Management and Financial Control - Current Developments' jointly organised by the German Foundation for International Development (DSE) and the Auditor Ge'neral of Sri Lanka, was held at Colombo from May 11 to May 19, 1995. 21 delegates from India, Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka attended the Seminar.
The Seminar was inaugurated by Mr. S.M. Sabry, Auditor General of Sri Lanka. Dr. Joachim Heidorn, Acting Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sri Lanka and Mr. Georg Steinhoff of the German Foundation for International Development also graced the inaugural function. At the close of the Seminar, certificates were distributed to all participants by the Auditor General of Sri Lanka.
Participants at the Seminar on 'Budget Management
and Financial Control
-Current Developments'
The General Auditing Bureau of Saudi Arabia (GAB) is interested in enhancing the professional qualifications of its employees at different job levels and providing them different skills to further improve their performance and develop their capabilities. The GAB makes best use of the available training opportunities both within and outside the country, to enable achievement of the highest standards of audit work. With this object in mind, the GAB has deputed twenty of its employees to the USA to join a twelve-month programme on Performance and EDP Audit in Davis and Old Dominion Universities.
A seminar on 'Budget Management and Financial Control' was organised by the German Foundation for International Development at Berlin from July 10 to July 22, 1995. 25 professional managers from the finance ministries and SAIs of Palestine and Yemen participated in the Seminar. The Seminar covered a wide range of topics, including the financial and budgetary control systems in Germany, modern methods for budgeting, and management standards regulating the budgeting bases for effective financial policies. The instructors for the Seminar were drawn from the SAI of Germany and the Ministries of Finance of the State and Federal Governments of Germany.