1

Interaction between SAIs and PACs.

Presentation to

SADCOPAC

Who is AFROSAI-E?

• English-speaking subgroup of AFROSAI• 23 members, including 2 Portuguese speaking• Funded by members and donors• Governance structure

– Statutes and Regulations– Governing Board and committees– Executive secretariat– Annual reports

2

Strategic Imperatives

• Independence• IT infrastructure, IT auditing and electronic

working papers• Human resource management• Quality assurance• Performance auditing• Communication and relationships

3

Communication and relationships

• Internal communication– Manual– Workshops– Management development program

• External communication– Key stakeholders

• Auditees• Public accounts committee• Executive

4

AG’s interaction with PACs

• Interdependent - Need support from each other• Have to strengthen interaction to increase the

impact of audit reports• Same objective – to enhance accountability,

transparency, honesty and optimize the utilizations of public resources

5

How can we improve interaction between AGs and PACs?

• AFROSAI-E engaged GIZ as a key partner• Workshop in Tanzania

– Representatives from GIZ, SAI, PAC and AFROSAI-E

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Outcomes of the Tanzania workshop

• Partnership with GIZ (nWEnt)

Projects• Communication strategy for the relation between

PAC and SAIs • Improved audit reports• More performance audit reports• PACs to demand auditable performance

information from governments• Communication strategy for media relations

(PACs and SAIs)7

Subsequent events

• Project approved by GIZ (InWEnt)• To be executed during the next 3 years• Consultant appointed to compile

– SAI/PAC communication strategy– Reporting Guidelines

• Regularity Audit• Performance Audit

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SAI/PAC Communication Strategy

Goal and Objectives

• Goal: to increase the impact of the function of the SAI

• Objectives– To provide the PAC with adequate support

necessary to improve its effectiveness and efficiency in fulfilling its mandate

– To communicate and facilitate the PAC’s improved understanding of the function of the SAI and its impact on society

Expected Benefits

• Effective working relationship • SAI & PAC’s increased effectiveness• Improved understanding of each

others’ needs• Improved understanding of the

function of the SAI and its impact

Focus Areas

• PAC support communication– strengthening SAI/PAC communication &

SAI’s support to PAC in reviewing audit reports and undertaking related functions

• Reputational communication– Communication initiated by SAI with the aim

of providing PAC with information about its function and its impact. Important for SAI’s reputation and PAC’s perceptions of the SAI

PAC support communication

PAC work process Communication activities by SAI

Strategic planning audit-relevant info - expert strategic advice

Prioritisation of audit reports/report sections

Compile list of critical reports, audit findings or sections

Setting work programme Provide comments if necessary

Preliminary questions Draft preliminary questions

PAC support communication

PAC work process Communication activities by SAI

Preliminary questions Draft preliminary questions

Public hearings Attend public hearings as expert witness

PAC support communicationPAC work process Communication activities by

SAI

Development of PAC resolutions (report)

Provide input and advise

Review of government responses

Evaluate government responses

Follow-up on recommendations

Assist the PAC with developing a formal procedure

Review of the PAC’s performance

Share experiences

Reputational Communication

• Communicate & update PAC on:– the function of the SAI and its desired impact– the SAI’s strategic plan– SAI’s performance information – relevant SAI developments, news, events, etc

• Conduct joint media briefings/press conferences • Organise information sharing and networking

sessions

REPORTING GUIDELINES

REPORTING GUIDELINES

• REGULARITY AUDIT• PERFORMANCE AUDIT

REPORTING GUIDELINES

• There is a gap between the expectations of the users and the compilers of audit reports.

• Audit reports have been criticised for being:

• Not so useful or informative• too technical • too detailed • Lacking adequate analysis

Objective of Reporting Guideline

• To provide guidance for SAIs to address the ‘expectation gap’ and enable them to better align audit reports to the requirements of the PAC and other stakeholders.

• To ensure that SAIs’ audit reports achieve

the impact which is expected of them.

Characteristics of Effective Reports

• Relevant, including the right messages for the readers• Produced and tabled in a timely manner;• Placing emphasis on key risk areas; • Conveying a clear and concise message in an easy to

read fashion; • Actionable, pointing out the causes for the errors and

non-compliance identified; • Providing meaningful analysis of information, for

example ratio analysis and • Presenting information in a user-friendly manner, using

graphs and tables where applicable and possible.

CONTENTS OF GUIDELINE (RA)

• Reporting process of a SAI• Role of Audit Standards• The Expectation Gap• Contents of audit reports• Analysis and interpretation in reports• Visual presentation in an audit report

WAY FORWARD

• Adoption of documents at AFROSAI-E Governing Board.

• Toolkit containing three documents–SAI/PAC Communication Strategy–Reporting Guidelines - RA & PA

• Training of Regional Champions• Workshops at Country Level for AG & PAC

– (CCAF involvement)

Conclusion

• The SAI and the PAC are enablers of each others’ function.

• Both should take pro-active roles in ensuring the successful implementation of these guidelines.

• Interaction should not compromise the independence of the SAI and the PAC;

• The SAI and PAC should interact with integrity, professionalism and credibility

THANK YOU

TATENDA