Government Move to Accrual Accounting: On 4 November 1992 the Australian Minister of Finance announced that Australian Government Departments are to move to financial reporting on an accrual basis. Currently, departments report on a cash basis; however, the cash reports are supplemented by information on assets and liabilities.
The Minister for Finance stated that the change meant departments would be required to report comprehensive information on assets and liabilities and to report revenue and expenses in the form of an operating statement focussing on the net cost of providing departmental services. The new requirements would be phased in progressively with all departments adopting full accrual requirements for the financial year ending 30 June 1995.
The Australian Auditor General, Mr.John Taylor, welcomed the Government's decision and acknowledged that the comprehensive information made available from the adoption of the accrual basis of financial reporting will enhance the information available to management and the Parliament for decision making. The adoption of accrual accounting should also address past Australian National Audit Office concerns that not all government assets and liabilities have been disclosed in departmental financial statements (ANAO Audit Report No.34, Accounting for and Reporting of Departmental Assets and Liabilities refers).
The Auditor General has indicated that ANAO expertise will be made available to support the development of the revised financial reporting framework. To promote the benefits of accrual based financial reporting, the ANAO included audited accrual accounts of its own operations in its annual report for 1991-92.
Audit Delegation to PRC: An Indian Audit Delegation led by Mr.P.K. Sarkar, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, visited the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1 June 1992 to 11 June 1992, to study the Chinese audit systems and procedures. The visit covered Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Zhuhair (Special Economic Zone). In Beijing the delegation held discussions with the Auditor General and other senior officers of the Audit Administration of the PRC, and in the other cities with the officials of the Local Audit Bureaus. The discussions broadly covered the audit systems and practices prevailing in the PRC for audit of State-owned public enterprises and the organizational arrangement for carrying out the audit.
India-China Joint Seminar: A Joint India-China Seminar on 'Audit of Public Enterprises' was held in New Delhi from 11 to 21 November 1992. The Chinese delegation led by Mr.Li Jinhua, Deputy Auditor General, had four other officials of the Audit Administration of the PRC.
The Chinese delegation visited the Bombay Stock Exchange and certain public sector enterprises in Hyderabad, and held talks prior to the commencement of the seminar.
At the seminar, the Indian side presented three papers covering the Memorandum of Understanding between the Public Sector Enterprises and the Government, Audit of the Trade and the Fertilizer Sectors. The Chinese delegation presented papers on the functions and manner of performance, and economic responsibility audit of State-owned Enterprises in the PRC. The presentations were supported by selective case studies. The question and answer sessions followed by discussions were extremely useful and brought out the differences and similarities in the two systems and the manner in which problems were resolved. Many interesting points were thrown up for consideration and suitable adoption by both SAIs.
Visit of UK Audit Delegation: An Audit delegation led by Sir John Bourn KCB, Comptroller and Auditor General of the UK, was on a 9-day official visit to India during April 1992. Sir Bourn held fruitful discussions in New Delhi with Mr.Somiah, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and his senior officers. The discussions covered audit organization; approach to financial, performance and computer audits; audit of privatization; relationship with Parliament; and bilateral issues. The delegation also visited the Accountant General's office and the National Academy of Audit and Accounts at Shimla. As a result of the visit of the delegation, the bilateral cooperation between the SAIs of the UK and India has been strengthened.
Visit of Sri Lankan Audit Team: An Audit team headed by Mr.W. Gamini Epa, Auditor General of Sri Lanka, while on a trip to India during April 1992, visited the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and discussed matters of mutual interest between the SAIs of Sri Lanka and India. The discussions covered the administrative response to audit reports, powers of SAIs, audit of financial institutions and computer support to audit.
Bilateral contacts with the SAI of Pakistan: A delegation of six officials of the Audit Department of Pakistan visited the Office of the Supreme Audit Board of Indonesia (Bepeka) with the purpose of studying the current national and provincial accounting systems and computerisation of administrative activities in Indonesia.
The 16-day visit was divided into two parts, the first devoted to a comparative study at the Office of the Bepeka and the second part a visit to several agencies like the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Works, the Provincial Administration of the Special Authority of Jakarta and the Municipality of the town, Bandung. At Bepeka they received general information on the organization and tasks of the Bepeka, computerisation within the Bepeka, developing EDP audit expertise and plans to set up a Computerised Information System.
During their visit to the Ministry of Finance the delegates were given an overview of the Central Government Accounting System of Indonesia by the Central Accounting Office, whereas topics on Project Monitoring and Information Systems were presented by officials of the Directorate General of Highway at the Ministry of Public Works. In order to be informed on the provincial budget cycles and its financial information system, explanations were provided by the officers of the Provincial Administration of the Special Authority of Jakarta. The study tour was concluded by a visit in Bandung, respectively to the Municipality of the town and to the Data Processing and Budget Information Center of the Ministry of Finance.
Earlier, a member of the Supreme Audit Board of Indonesia had visited Pakistan.
New Developments in Performance Auditing: It was almost a decade ago when the Department of the Auditor General started to practice performance auditing, in addition to traditional auditing, in Pakistan. During these years, the SAI has primarily been conducting the performance audit of development projects of the federal and provincial governments. It has however been felt during the last few years that a stage has now been reached to enter into such areas as performance auditing of public sector development programmes and that of the service oriented organizations.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly has been quite satisfied with the work done by the Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan in this new area. In its two sessions held during June-July 1992, the PAC directed the Department of the Auditor General to bring a larger number of development projects to the fold of performance auditing, besides measuring the performance of some of Pakistan's missions abroad. This directive from the PAC is an appreciation of the SAI's work by the legislature of the country and has boosted the morale of its performance auditors. This directive also, officially, gives a new direction to the activities of the department.
Five-Year Information Systems Audit Master Plan (ISAMP):
The increased reliance of government organizations on electronic data processing requires auditors to be adequately trained and sufficiently familiar with EDP techniques. In order to keep up with the fast-faced technological developments of its clientele, the Philippines' Commission on Audit prepared a Five-Year Information Systems Audit Master Plan (ISAMP) which will serve as the blueprint for implementing two major tasks: a) developing and maintaining information systems audit capability, and b) conducting comprehensive information systems audit.
More specifically, the ISAMP identified types and levels of computer expertise needed in audit and planned a structured and phased development of those skills as follows: training of 100 auditors/specialists on different areas of specialization particularly on EDP Systems Controls, Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs), Audit Management Tools, and communication skills; training of 450 auditors on EDP Systems Controls; training of 900 auditors on Audit Management Tools; conduct of information systems audits of computerized financial and non-financial installations, and the development of Information Systems Audit Standards, Information Systems Audit Guide and Audit Management Tools.
The training scheme has been prepared. Some of the basic features of the training plan concern the expected roles of trained auditors from the different areas of specializations, the selection criteria, the training approach and period, the schedule of events, and scenarios. The training of trainers for the first year shall consist of two batches each of 25 participants. The training of the first batch started on 14 September 1992. The duration of the training for trainers will be eight weeks which includes six weeks lecture and computer hands-on and two weeks Job Execution Test (JET).
Eighth Working Plan: The President of the State Audit Institution issued the 8th Working Plan of the SAI for the period from 1 May 1992 to 30 June 1993.
The plan is divided into many sub-plans and programmes.
Among other things the plan indicates the extent of selective checks which should be applied in auditing. It deals with both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of auditing.
The New Central Organization for Control and Auditing: As a result of the re-unification of the two previously-divided parts of Yemen on 22 May 1992, their two SAIs were combined into a newly organized SAI called the Central Organization for Control and Auditing (COCA). Later that year, the Presidential Council of the Republic of Yemen approved the issuance of Law No.39 that formally established the COCA.
This law specifies COCA'S organization, objectives, duties, responsibilities, scope of work and powers. The COCA has been given wider audit jurisdiction and powers with an assurance of its independence. It reports directly to the Presidential Council of the Republic and the Parliament.
It is headed by the President who is appointed by the Presidential Council for unspecified term of office. The President of COCA is entitled to exercise financial and administrative powers within COCA in a way similar to that of both Minister of Finance and Minister of Civil Services and Administrative Reforms.