An ASOSAI-sponsored workshop on "Project Audit of Public Works" was hosted by SAI-China at Beijing from May 15 to May 23, 1996. Discussions at the workshop were centred around three sub-themes dealing with :-
An ASOSAI sponsored seminar on "Computerised Government Accounting Systems and EDP / IT Auditing" was organised by the Board of Audit and Inspection, Korea from August 26 to September 4, 1996 at Seoul. The objective of the Seminar was to support and promote the development and transfer of knowledge in the field of EDP/IT Auditing, especially through exchange of experiences. The seminar consisted of lectures, country paper presentations, case studies and group discussions, centring around two sub-themes, namely :-
31 delegates from 26 member SAIs attended the Seminar, which recommended that SAIs should recognise the need for using CAATs and IT audit techniques and promote the level of the IT audit function within the organisation. Participants felt that SAIs should be involved in the system development life cycle, with a view to ensuring incorporation of audit requirements and adequate controls, security, back-up procedures and uniformity of accounting systems within government organisations. The Seminar also recommended that the role of the ASOSAI computer expert group should be re-defined to provide training for member SAIs, particularly with regard to the use of CAATs.
A training programme on "System Based Auditing (SBA) in Certification Audit" was organised by officers of SAI-Pakistan at Yanji City, Jilin Province of China from September 3 to 5, 1996. 17 senior officers of SAI-China participated in the programme, which covered various aspects of SBA, including planning for SBA, sampling, evaluation of internal controls, compliance and substantive testing, and audit certification.
International Training Programmes
SAI-lndia has been organising three International Training Programmes every year on a variety of audit themes for the benefit of staff from SAIs of the Asian, African and Pacific regions. These programmes are funded by the Government of India under various Co-operation Programmes and Schemes.Till 1995-96, thirty five such programmes had been organised, benefiting 960 staff from 46 SAIs.
During the year 1996-97, the International Training Centre of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has organised three International Training Programmes on the following themes :-
Of these, the first two programmes, which were attended by 44 participants from 27 SAIs, have been successfully concluded. The third programme is currently in progress.
SAI-lndia has been attaching a great deal of emphasis on the development and upgradation of skills in the field of IT auditing, as part of a comprehensive strategy for IT Audit. Training in this important area is being imparted by six in-house training institutions within the SAL With a view to supplementing these efforts, a project for training of a core group of staff members in the principles and practices of audit of Information Technology at the National Audit Office, UK was initiated, with funding from the British Overseas Development Administration (ODA), and the first group of fifteen officers was deputed to UK for training in 1995.
With a view to further strengthening the pool of IT Audit skilled manpower in the Indian SAI, a second group of fifteen officials was deputed for a six week long training programme at the National Audit Office from September 1 to October 11, 1996. The staff trained in IT audit are now not only conducting specialised audits of Information Technology Systems, but are also delivering training in IT Audit within the SAI, thus ensuring effective dissemination of IT audit skills amongst SAI staff.
Participants at the International Training
Programme on "Audit of Public
Works and Projects"
Participants at the Seminar on
Audit of the Social Services Sector
The State Audit Bureau of Kuwait hosted an ARABOSAI Seminar on the theme "Audit of the Social Services Sector" from December 9 to 15, 1996. 16 participants from 7 SAIs attended the Seminar, which was aimed at upgrading the skills of participants in the field of audit of social services. The programme covered a variety of topics related to audit of social services, including :-
In order to enhance its EDP auditing capabilities, the State Audit Institution of the United Arab Emirates recently deputed two of its Senior Auditors to Bahrain's Ministry of Finance - Audit Department, for advanced training in the use of Interactive Data Extraction and Analysis (IDEA) - a PC-based software package for auditors.
The Central Organisation for Control and Auditing, the Supreme Audit Institution of Yemen, hosted a Seminar on "Monitoring of Public Expenditure by Efficiency Control" from March 25 to April 1, 1996 at Sana'a, with the assistance of the German Foundation for International Development. 25 professional financial and audit staff members from Yemen and Palestine attended the Seminar, which covered a wide range of topics including principles, planning and implementation of efficiency control; control of public revenues, state subsidies and public building measures, efficiency audit of public procurement; SAI's advisory role vis-a-vis Parliament and Government; and privatisation and the role of the public sector in Yemen. The instructors for the Seminar were drawn from the German Federal Court of Audit.