UK Overseas Territories Project. Training on the UKOT Financial Audit Manual October London, United Kingdom

Transcription

1 1213UKOTP-TFAM/REPORT UK Overseas Territories Project Training on the UKOT Financial Audit Manual October 2017 London, United Kingdom Final Report 1

2 Contents Project Overview... 4 Aim & Objectives of Project... 4 Participants & Key Stakeholders... 4 Key Programme Areas... 5 Results of the Project... 5 Next steps... 7 Further resources... 7 Acknowledgements... 8 Annex A: Full Programme... 9 Annex B: About the NAO and CPA UK

3 Summary The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK) has formed a consortium with the UK National Audit Office (NAO) and the UK Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) to deliver a three-year project to support public financial management in the UK Overseas Territories, funded by the Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund. As part of this project and following consultation with key stakeholders in each UK Overseas Territory, a Programme of Activities has been agreed with each Territory. Three streams of work will be undertaken with partners in each Territory, supporting and building capacity within Public Accounts Committees, External Audit Offices and Internal Audit Offices. As part of the External Audit stream of activities, the NAO has written a new financial audit manual for use and adaptation by the UKOTs. As part of this process, a training workshop was held at the UK NAO to introduce auditors from each UKOT External Audit office to the manual focussing on key areas of guidance to enhance their audit capacity. The workshop provided practical training in how to use the key areas of guidance in the manual. It included a train the trainers workshop which empowered attending delegates to train other audit officials in the procedures in the manual in their audit office upon their return. The workshop also provided a platform to share knowledge and develop networks between external auditors from across the UK Overseas Territories. 3

4 Project Overview CPA UK has formed a consortium with the UK National Audit Office (NAO) and the UK Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) to deliver a three-year project of activities to support relevant UK Overseas Territory (UKOT) stakeholders. The programme will bring together parliamentarians and audit officials from the Territories and UK to discuss frameworks for good practice and priorities in public financial management. CPA UK s OT programme team is working in partnership with Territory legislatures and audit institutions to gain insight and expertise to ensure that activities fit the specific context and demand of each Territory The Project was launched with the CPA UK and UK Overseas Territories Parliamentary Forum on Public Financial Management in Miami on 1-2 March As part of the Forum, bilateral discussions provided an opportunity to discuss priorities and specific challenges in public financial oversight and audit, and convey how the UK Overseas Territories Project (UKOTP) could best support their roles As part of the External Audit stream of activities within the UKOTP, the UK NAO is producing a new financial audit manual for use in the UK Overseas Territories. As part of this work, the NAO conducted a training workshop to introduce the manual to auditors from UKOT External Audit Offices. Two delegates were invited to attend from each UKOT External Audit Office, with funding offered for at least one delegate from each Territory. Project Aim & Objectives Aim. To provide an introduction for auditors from across the UK Overseas Territories to the new UKOT financial audit manual focussing on key areas of guidance to enhance their audit capacity Objectives. Objective 1: Provide practical training in how to use the key areas of guidance in new UKOT financial audit manual. Objective 2: Conduct a train the trainers workshop to empower attending delegates to train other audit officials in the procedures as laid out in the new manual in their audit office upon their return. Supporting objective: Share knowledge and develop networks between external audit officials across the UK Overseas Territories. Participants & Key Stakeholders Key Stakeholders: UK National Audit Office Office of the Auditor General, Bermuda 4

5 Office of the Auditor General, Cayman Islands Office of the Auditor General, Gibraltar Office of the Auditor General, Montserrat Office of the Auditor General, St Helena Office of the Auditor General, Virgin Islands (UK) CPA UK UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office The following participated in the workshop: Jennita DeShields, Audit Senior, Bermuda Tricica Boyce, Audit Project Leader, Cayman Islands Kwame Afrane, Audit Project Leader, Cayman Islands Terence Chichon, Audit Manager, Gibraltar Michelle Imossi, Audit Manager Gibraltar Karina West, Audit Manager, Montserrat Marsha Meade, Deputy Auditor General, Montserrat Phil Sharman, Auditor-General, St Helena Happyman Makamure, Head of Audit Services, St Helena Micheala Stoutt, Audit Manager, Virgin Islands (UK) Allison Gumbs, Auditor, Virgin Islands (UK) UK NAO Participants were: Paul Wright Anderson, Value for Money; Support for UKOTs, International Relations and Technical Cooperation Bob Shambler, International Relations and Technical Cooperation Sarah Colletti, Learning and Development Key Programme Areas The three day workshop explored the following key areas of the new financial audit manual: Planning Fieldwork Completion Sharing Learning with Colleagues Results of the Project By meeting the programme objectives, the workshop produced the following outcomes: Provided practical training in how to use the key areas of guidance in the UKOT financial audit manual. All delegates reported that the training and new manual would have a positive impact on how their audit office conducts financial audits. Delegates also highlighted areas of the training and manual which would most aid their audit offices. 5

6 5.02. A delegate from Virgin Islands (UK) stated the training and manual will have a great impact on the way we perform our audit work and may lead to an entire revamping of our audit processes. Another Virgin Islands (UK) delegate stated they expected the training and new manual to lead to the application of an ISA compliant approach and therefore more reliable audit reporting Delegates from St Helena stated that the training gave a clear understanding of the audit approach proposed in the manual and declared themselves very confident in applying the manual following the training, while a delegate from the Cayman Islands stated the training has made me more confident in using the new financial audit manual Delegates highlighted areas of the training and manual which would most aid their audit offices. For example, delegates from the Cayman Islands highlighted the work on audit controls and control testing. Delegates from Bermuda and Gibraltar highlighted expected improvements in planning and fieldwork documentation within their offices as a result of the training and new manual. A delegate from Montserrat stated that the training on planning and sampling will be beneficial in completing more efficient audits The Train the trainers workshop empowered attending delegates to train other audit officials in the procedures as laid out in the new manual in their audit office. The Train the Trainer element of the training resulted in delegates being confident in sharing the knowledge from their training within their External Audit Offices. Delegates considered their current training techniques and were exposed to other techniques to share and cascade knowledge from the training within their offices. A delegate from the Cayman Islands stated I feel confident in sharing the knowledge through Train the Trainer. A delegate from Gibraltar stated I feel quite confident in finding various ways to provide training in my audit office following the Train the Trainer sessions Shared knowledge and developed networks between external audit officials across the UK Overseas Territories. The delegate from Bermuda found the opportunity to share experiences and learn from different approaches in Audit Offices particularly useful., stating that the participants in the programme were at various levels in their audit offices, and therefore the delegates were able to learn from each other and share experiences. A delegate from Montserrat stated that small group work was effective in sharing experiences. Such shared knowledge and networks will be further built on through the UKOTP Online Portal which a delegate from the Cayman Islands described as a brilliant development Participants completed post-assessment forms focused which gathered quantitative and qualitative data on four key themes. These were: Planning Fieldwork Completion Sharing Learning with Colleagues 6

7 5.08. Analysis of the participant post-assessment forms yielded the below levels of understanding after the workshop, with 5 being the maximum value of increased understanding Delegates were much more confident in applying the manual to their work according to the postassessment form delegates completed. Delegates reported substantial increases in understanding across the four focus areas of the training: planning, fieldwork, completion, and sharing learning with colleagues Average Post-Workshop Understanding of Programme Areas Planning Fieldwork Completion Sharing Learning with Colleagues Average rating of understanding post workshop Following the training, fieldwork was identified by a number of delegates (BVI (2), Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Gibraltar) as an area where further support would be welcomed. Next Steps After the training, delegates were given access to a range of training materials, worked example documents, useful resources, and audit templates on the UKOTP Online Portal 1, to share with others within their audit office. 1 The aim of the online portal is to create a platform for Chairs of Public Accounts Committees and Heads of Internal and External Audit from the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) to share good practice and exchange ideas with regards to public financial management, promoting cross-territory communication between professional counterparts. The portal enables stakeholders to discuss key issues with 7

8 7.02. The Financial Audit Manual will be shared with audit offices once it has completed the quality assurance process. It is expected to be shared in January The NAO will produce a Value for Money Audit Manual in 2018, using lessons and experiences from the production of the Financial Audit Manual. Training will be offered for the Value for Money Audit Manual in late Further resources Resources from the training are available to members of the portal on the UK Overseas Territories Project Portal at To be a member of the Portal you should work in a UKOT External Audit Office, Internal Audit Office, or serve on a UKOT Public Accounts Committee This report is available on Acknowledgements Sincere appreciation is given to the External Audit Office of each in participating UK Overseas Territory, the Governor s Office in each UKOT, the CSSF, and the FCO. counterparts, upload documents, and allow the Project Team to easily share updates, outputs and other relevant material. To be a member of the Portal you should work in a UKOT External Audit Office, Internal Audit Office, or serve on a UKOT Public Accounts Committee. 8

9 Annex A Full Programme Monday 16 October - Arrival day 1400 Check in at programme hotel Tour of the Houses of Parliament (optional) Tuesday 17 October Day Depart on foot from Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel to National Audit Office (escorted by 9 CPA UK staff member). Please bring your passport for entry to the NAO and expect airport style security Welcome and overview of manual and aims of the course Paul Wright Anderson & 1000 Coffee 1015 Setting materiality 1230 Lunch 1330 Carrying out risk assessment procedures (1) 1500 Tea 1530 Carrying out risk assessment procedures (2) 1630 Tea 1645 The audit assurance model 1800 End of Day 1 Wednesday 18 October Day Testing controls (1) 1000 Coffee 1015 Testing controls (2) 1200 Lunch 1330 Train the trainer Sarah Colletti 1500 Tea 1530 Train the trainer Sarah Colletti 1630 Tea 1645 Train the trainer Sarah Colletti 1800 End of Day 2 Thursday 19 October Day Substantive analytical procedures

10 1000 Coffee 1015 Tests of detail 1230 Lunch 1330 Forming the audit opinion and modifications to the audit report 1500 Tea 1530 Communicating with those charged with governance 1630 Tea 1645 Quality assurance 1745 Closing remarks and course round up Paul Wright-Anderson & 1800 End of Day 3 Friday 20 October Departure day Depart programme hotel AM. 10

11 About the UK National Audit Office The National Audit Office is the UK s Supreme Audit Institution. Its 800 staff audit the financial statements of all central government departments, agencies and other public bodies, and report the results to Parliament. They also carry out value for money studies, local audit, investigations, support to Parliament and international activities. The recommendations and reports on good practice help government improve public services, the work led to audited savings of 1.21 billion in About the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK CPA UK is one of the largest and most active branches in the CPA community and delivers a unique annual international outreach programme in Westminster and overseas. CPA UK works to encourage parliamentary diplomacy and build parliamentary capacity on behalf of the UK Parliament and the wider CPA. Through activities such as conferences, seminars, delegations and parliamentary strengthening teams, CPA UK provides Members with a practical, current and first-hand perspective on international issues facing fellow parliamentarians across the Commonwealth. Working with CPA UK s international outreach programmes also enhances Members understanding of issues facing diaspora communities in their own constituencies. For more information, visit 11