News Archives

RAA/(web news)/2003/07 

January 1st

Audit Awareness Programme for GYT Members

For the very first time and in line with the 9^th Five Year Plan, 201 Geogs will be implementing their own plan, based on their priorities, needs and capacities. In this, the RAA has initiated to conduct the Audit Awareness Programme for the members of the Geog Yargay Tshogchhung and even to some of the members of the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogchhung. 

The basic aim of this programme is to create awareness among the GYT members on auditing procedures, audit plans and policies and other precautionary measures from the very start of their roles and responsibilities. The programme will also emphasize on the practical aspects of auditing and beyond to render clean and transparent services to the respective geog in particular and to the nation as a whole.

The Royal Audit Authority hopes that this programme would lead to efficient and effective implementation of their planned programs, reduction in the corruption and ultimately attain the successful implementation of the 9^th Five Year Plan.

This is a two years programme and tries to cover 10 Dzongkhags each year. The RAA has actually planned to commence this programme from 24^th of February 2003 but the Chairman of the DYT and the GYT under the Thimphu Dzongkhag has invited RAA to brief the members on 1^st of January 2004 present to attend their annual DYT meeting.

The Hon’ble Auditor General, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi and some senior officers from the Royal Audit Authority briefed the members.

RAA/(Web News)/2003/361

January 29th

MOU on Indian Accounts & Audit Service, Simla

The Auditor General of Bhutan and the former Comptroller & Auditor General of India had signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation (MOU) on behalf of the Royal Government of Bhutan and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of India on 14^th December 2001 at Thimphu.  Since then, the Royal Audit Authority has been sending two officers each year to the National Academy of Audit and Accounts, Shimla to take up Induction training course for the Indian Accounts & Audit Service (IA&AS) probationers of Indian Audit & Accounts Department. Till date four officers from the Royal Audit Authority had completed the training and two officers are availing the training currently as shown below: 

Sl.No	Name & Designation	Remarks
1	Dorji Tenzin, Assistant Chief Auditor	Completed
2	Kesang Namgyel, Assistant Chief Auditor	Completed
3	Ugyen Dorji, Assistant Chief Auditor	Completed
4	Chimi Dorji, Assistant Chief Auditor	Completed
5	Narapati Sharma, Assistant Chief Auditor	Under going
6	Cheki Dorji, Assistant Chief Auditor	Under going

Ugyen Dorji and Chimi Dorji, Assistant Chief Auditors have completed the IA & AS course very recently. Following is an extract from the interview by RAA news correspondent with the candidates on 28^th January’ 2004: Click here for more

RAA/(Web News)/2004/779 

March 8, 2004

Environmental Auditing in Nairobi

Chandra Bdr. Gurung, Sr. Auditor from the Office of the Assistant Auditor General, Tsirang attended the workshop on ‘Environmental Auditing’ in Nairobi , Kenya from 16-27 February 2004.

The main objectives of the Workshop were:

1.      to start Environmental Audit in the country;

2.      to enable participant to train the fellow auditors in the SAI; and

3.      help the SAI to set up a separate Environmental Audit Unit in the near future.

Thirty-two participants from nineteen countries attended the workshop.

The workshop was organized by the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) especially for the members of the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institution- English (AFROSAI-E). The AFROSAI is one of the seven Regional Working Groups of International Organization of Supreme Audit Institution (INTOSAI).

Chandra Bdr. Gurung will organize a similar training to the auditors of the Royal Audit Authority during the In-house training 2004.

Auditor General's Audit Awareness Campaign

RAA(PPD-Misc)2004/894

15th March, 2004

Press Release

The Auditor General of Bhutan will be on a four week tour to Eastern and Central Dzongkhags on 16th March 2004.

The tour is aimed at promoting accountability and safeguarding integrity at the grass roots in pursuant to one of the significant changes for the 9th Plan where authority to carry out Geog Planning, administration of developments and its implementation is delegated from the Central to the Geogs. The Royal Audit Authority is given the responsibility to monitor, review and report on the functioning and performance of the Geog Administrations.

The tour will attempt to educate and create awareness in the field of auditing among the member of the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogchung (DYT) and Geog Yargay Tshogchung (GYT) as a more critical and urgent in the field of modern administrations and Management for efficient implementation of plans.

The Royal Audit Authority is hopeful that this programme would be able to help render clean or transparent services to the public while leading in reductions of corruption and ensuring successful implementation of the 9th Plan.

The first phase will cover the Dzongkhags of Trongsa, Bumthang, Mongar, Zhemgang, Lhuentse, Trashigang, Pemagatshel, SamdrupJongkhar, Sarpang and Trashiyangtse.

The Auditor General and the team will return to station on 9th April, 2004.

Accountability Begins at Home

James D. Wolfensohn
President, The World Bank Group

In recent days, I led a strategic forum within the World Bank, brainstormed what it takes to manage for results with fellow heads of multilateral development banks, joined the deliberations of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) finance ministers laying the groundwork for a G-8 summit in June 2004, and traded observations on challenges to development and peace with a group of parliamentarians from around the world.

No matter the audience, no matter the venue, everyone has the same hope: building a better life for our children and for all children. But the question is, How do we go about it? How do we make every penny count? How do we scale up our efforts to serve millions over time? How do we ensure leadership, partnership, and inclusion?

The Importance of SAIs

Financial accountability is a necessary condition for efficient public management and hence for the management of funds in favor of poverty reduction, health and education, a clean environment, and peace.

Over the last decade, the development community has come to understand the importance of public financial management for reaching the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the need for accountability systems that perform well in client countries. At the same time, donors realize that for development impact to be sustainable, they must depend on these national systems, rather than impose separate systems of their own. Effective supreme audit institutions are a key element of such systems. As the Lima Declaration states, they seek “the proper and effective use of public funds; the development of sound financial management; the proper execution of administrative activities; and the communication of information to public authorities and the general public through the publication of objective reports.”

The World Bank-SAI Partnership

The World Bank is at the forefront of support for and mutually beneficial interaction with SAIs . Examples of practical partnerships and dialogue include the following:

• Supreme audit institutions are already helping to shape the World Bank’s audit policy. Public audit institutions (among them a large number of supreme audit institutions) already provide close to half of all audit reports on loans and credits received by the Bank.
• When changes to the Bank’s audit policy were discussed in November 2002, an advisory panel of ASIs offered insights and recommendations.
• The Bank’s Development Grant Facility has been supporting the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), the training arm of INTOSAI, since 2001 and more recently helped to underwrite the INTOSAI Working Group on Auditing Standards.
• An increasing number of grants from the Institutional Development Fund support staff training needs assessment, and the design of auditing manuals or information technology in SAIs .
• Between 1997 and 2002, more than 90 adjustment loan conditionalities were designed to have developing country governments better support their SAIs .
• As part of its governance agenda, the World Bank Institute provides training and organizes seminars aimed at enhancing government auditing abilities.

SAI Independence is a Prerequisite

The Bank is cautious not to endanger the independence of SAIs-indeed, we do all we can to bolster it. As the Lima Declaration articulates, SAIs must have the capacity to perform their professional mission-to report freely to the parliament and the public on their findings.

There are many obstacles to overcome: formal and unofficial limitations to their mandate, limited access to the public and the media, underfunding, understaffing, and “incentives” given in favor of “soft” auditing.

The survey INTOSAI conducted in March 2001 clearly showed that putting independence into practice is a complex and constant struggle requiring patience and strength and-somewhat ironically-some support from the government itself through proper funding.

In our dialogues with country representatives, especially through diagnostic work on public financial management, the World Bank continuously makes the case for improved accountability, transparency in the management of public funds, and independence for government auditing.

The agendas of the donor and SAI communities are highly consistent: to promote better public management, increase transparency, and improve accountability. Development and the fight against poverty depend on it.

Our Growing Commitment

The Bank-like other donors-can do more to strengthen public sector financial management institutions in borrowing countries and to increase our reliance on those countries’ audit institutions. A strategy paper is under preparation, with much-appreciated input expected from an advisory panel of SAIs in March 2004.

One area for exploration relates to the practice of peer reviews. Peer reviews are, for many reasons, a preferred means of identifying necessary changes, improving performance, and better serving a country’s citizens. The World Bank fully supports this approach and is very willing to increase the feasibility and frequency of such reviews by providing grant funds for that purpose. 

The Bank is also exploring ways in which it could cooperate with regional organizations of SAIs to better and more often draw on the expertise of the SAI community to improve the design and implementation of projects related to strengthening the government audit function.

Helping Each Other

Cooperation and mutual support were at the heart of the founding of INTOSAI in 1953. The organization’s motto-“Experientia mutual omnibus prodest”-speaks to the need for exchanging experiences in order to guarantee that government auditing progresses.

The next INTOSAI Congress in Budapest in October 2004 represents an opportunity to further enhance our bilateral and multilateral partnerships in support of accountability. Speaking on behalf of the Bank, we look forward to continued progress and mutual reinforcement.