PASAI Newsletter, No. 18 - the 'Partnership' issue

In this 18th issue of PASAI’s newsletter, we focus on the partnerships that enable us to achieve our many ambitious goals - doing the right things, in the right way, with the right people.

We look at the inter-regional partnership with the introduction of the IntoSAINT tool in two Pacific SAIs, where PASAI members were trained by SAI Mexico to test integrity risks and recommend improvement in audit offices and ministries alike.

We feature the outreach activities of SAIs Nauru, Pohnpei and Kosrae, connecting with citizens to raise public awareness of the role of the SAI, and of fraud and corruption.

We highlight the network of relationships with IDI and all our SAIs to establish full measurement of SAI performance, through our comprehensive SPMR programme combined with the targeted assessment provided by the SAI PMF process.

We hear from the PACs who strive for fine-tuned understanding of Public Financial Management; the youth groups and other citizen communities who join with us to shape their own futures; the working groups bringing attention to specific audits and matters of global interest.

And of course we honour our strategic alliances with the SAIs, INTOSAI regions and development partners who work alongside us to enable us to deliver our strategic plan. PASAI has long enjoyed a strong connection with IDI, MFAT and DFAT in delivering our core support to SAIs. A significant development in 2019 has been the new donor partnership established between PASAI and the EU-UNDP through the ‘Strengthening of public Finance Management and Governance in the Pacific Project’.

You can read more about this in the newsletter, and we also give you a heads-up about the biggest ‘partnership’ event in the PASAI calendar - PASAI’s 22nd Congress, taking place in Natadola, Fiji from 13 - 16 August 2019. SAIs, Development Partners, the Governing Board, PASAI’s Secretariat and interested parties and observers will gather to share news and experiences and find out about PASAI’s approach to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Enjoy this latest issue - Download the newsletter here.

Assessment teams equipped to roll out the SAI PMF measurement tool across the PASAI region

PRESS RELEASE

Friday 10 May 2019

The SAI PMF Tool will strengthen governance in the Pacific

Nadi, Fiji: The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) in collaboration with the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) facilitated a planning workshop on measuring the performance of public audit offices.

Fourteen participants from six government audit offices namely State Chuuk of the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Pohnpei, Tonga and Vanuatu, including the facilitators and PASAI Secretariat, attended the workshop in Nadi, Fiji on 6-10 May 2019 at Novotel Nadi Hotel. The objective of the workshop is to build capabilities of public auditors in using a measurement tool, the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) SAI Performance Measurement Framework (SAI PMF) to enable them to peer review each other’s performance.

Use of the SAI PMF tool was piloted in the Pacific region and implemented in other INTOSAI regions. Measuring the performance of SAIs ensures that government audit offices have the capacity and resources to conduct quality audits that contribute to good governance and make a difference in the lives of citizens.

The SAI PMF assessment will provide a true and clear baseline of performance built around six core organisational areas. Without this baseline, SAIs find it difficult to measure improvement against key performance indicators. Several PASAI SAIs already have this baseline information as a result of Phase 1 of the SAI PMF roll-out, and the SAIs participating in this workshop will now experience its practical application, as an assessment of their Offices will be conducted during the year. Future SAI PMF assessments will then map performance change over a period of time to feed into the SAI’s strategic planning activities.

Facilitated by Sinaroseta Palamo-Iosefo, PASAI’s Director Practice Development and Irina Sprenglewski, IDI’s SAI PMF Advisor, the workshop provided more than an overview of the importance of measuring and reporting on performance. Delegates were able to run through a number of realistic scenarios to strengthen their learning which will be useful when they conduct these assessments over the next few months.

Says Meresimani from the Fiji Auditor General’s Office, ‘It has been very illuminating to see how SAI PMF can be used to highlight areas of weakness and potential within each SAI. As it is an evidence-based tool, we learned first-hand how to use the tool by asking the right questions, obtaining proper evidence and finally by recording our responses in an effective and meaningful manner.’

The workshop has been the first activity funded under the new donor partnership established between PASAI and the EU under the Strengthening of public Finance Management and Governance in the Pacific Project. The Strengthening of Public Financial Management and Governance in the

Pacific Project aims to strengthen oversight over public financial management in the Pacific region, through improving the budgetary scrutiny, public financial oversight and accountability capacities of parliaments, supreme audit institutions and civil society within the region, aligning with international public financial oversight and accountability standards, and fostering citizen engagement and oversight. Strengthening of Public Financial Management and Governance in the Pacific Project is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

PASAI and IDI were honoured to welcome UNDP representatives, Marine Destrez and Manjeet Singh, to the first day of the workshop. In her opening remarks, Ms Destrez explained that this workshop is part of a whole spectrum of activities included in a new pool of funding created by the European Union (EU) that is dedicated to strengthening public financial management (PFM). Funding programs such as these are essential to strong governance, she went on. Public financial management covers frameworks, institutions and tools and brings together diverse stakeholders at the different stages of the Public Finance cycle. Audit Institutions play an important role in the oversight of PFM plans, processes and results and are an essential part of the transparency and accountability landscape of PFM. Both PASAI and EU/UNDP anticipate great collaborations on these important issues.

PASAI also acknowledges the continuous support of the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

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For more information contact:

Mr. Tiofilusi Tiueti

Chief Executive PASAI Secretariat

Email: tiofilusi.tiueti@pasai.org

Telephone: +64 9 304 1275

Website: www.pasai.org

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