Auditor-General’s Office of Papua New Guinea Enhances Audit Management

Author: Auditor-General’s Office of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is by far the largest of the developing island nations in the PASAI network. Its infrastructure is deficient, with inconsistent internet and power supply nationwide. Efforts are underway to construct a highway network that will connect the mountainous country, but once completed, maintenance may prove problematic due to landslides, tropical weather and seismic activity. 

The majority of the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) of Papua New Guinea staff are based at the head office in the capital city of Port Moresby. Two of the AGO’s five regional offices are located on island provinces. Work duties often require air travel but domestic flight costs are high. 

It is against these headwinds that the AGO is nevertheless committed to improving its practices. One way is by transitioning staff from heavy paper files to the TeamMate+ audit management software. 

The AGO is implementing the software in a phased manner, with staff members being assigned to audits under the guidance of TeamMate+ Champions and Team Leaders. Many of the TeamMate+ Champions are officers who have benefitted from 10-month secondments to the AGO’s twinning partner, the Australian National Audit Office. There, they had worked with TeamMate AM, an earlier version of the software. Other TeamMate+ Champions are self-taught at the AGO.

At present, the AGO has identified a total of 27 entities with 35 audits (including those with audits in arrears), and allocated 72 audit staff members from their respective divisions to these audits.

Among these divisions, two teams have successfully issued their audit reports, and a further 15 management letters have been drafted (covering 11 entities). Another division is currently dealing with an outstanding assignment that is running concurrently with the audits in TeamMate+.

Staff were trained using online resources from the software supplier and in-person guidance from the AGO Technical Services Branch. The Technical Team customized the TeamMate+ Audit System properties to meet the specific needs of the AGO. The TeamMate+ Champions then created a user guide and conducted practical training using dummy audit files based on the customized settings. They also created dummy auditees to complete the audit methodology templates.

At the time of writing, 78 staff members from operational divisions, financial and compliance audits had attended all training sessions. However, additional group and one-on-one training is available as needed, particularly when performing actual audits.

Auditing the provincial entities that still use paper-based accounting systems remains a challenge. However, in time, the AGO hopes this audit management software, which has been customized to suit the Papua New Guinean business environment, will eliminate the need for auditors to carry stacks of papers for auditing and reporting.