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PRESENTATION ON

Auditing in the New Normal

SAI Pakistan Experience �

by

Tafakhar Ali Asdi

DIRECTOR GENERAL (Policy)

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Mandate of �Auditor General of Pakistan

Article 170 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan requires the Auditor General of Pakistan to give directions to the Federal and Provincial Governments to keep the accounts in such form and in accordance with such principles and methods as the Auditor-General may, with the approval of the President, prescribe.

As per the AGP Ordinance, 2001, the AGP is responsible to:

Certify the accounts of the Federation, Provinces and Self Accounting Entities
Audit all transactions from Federal Consolidated Fund and Public Accounts
Undertake studies and analysis relating to Federal, Provincial & District Governments

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Challenges posed by New Normal

Conducting "field work" from a home/office proved a Challenge yet a Novel Concept in Auditing.

Difficult to collect sufficient /appropriate audit evidence

Mobility Restriction / limited interaction

Non availability of staff at auditee’s formations

First-hand observations obtained during Field Audit Activity cannot be replaced by virtual Audit

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Basic Challenge of New Normal�& Next Normal

The basic challenge posed by New Normal that extends to Next Normal is

How to execute Field Audit Activity in a non-conducive environment, restricted by Pandemic without compromising the

Audit coverage,
Accountability and Transparency
Contribution to Good governance

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SAI Pakistan’s Work Approach�To address the Challenge

Letters written to respective Head of Organizations to obtain Risk profile of COVID-19 related expenditure
Commission special workshops for Audit in the New Normal
Effective Desk Audit to reduce field work
Extended use of ACL to access data for audit and digital transformation
Requisition of required record through email before the start of field audit activity
Focus on systemic issues, trend analysis & policy reviews

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SAI Pakistan’s Work Approach�To address the Challenge

Virtual Supervisory visits
Scale down the audit coverage - FOCUSED AUDIT
Quarterly Review to manage financial resource and person days allocation
Preference to video link meetings
Ensure social distancing and Rotation Policy for staff
Minimum possible physical interaction with auditee
Strict adherence to advisory of Ministry of Health
AMIS is being initiated to be more technological efficient Audit

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Revising the�Audit Planning Considerations

Selection of entity

Risk assessment
Budget allocation
Emphasis on the quality of audit not just the audit coverage.

Knowing the entity

Desk audit
Permanent files
Reviewing the previous AIR of the entity

Evaluating the sensitive current issues

Media
General Public Opinion
Public representatives

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Scaling Down Audit Plan Targets (2020-2021)�(Audit Plan of one of the audit office of SAI Pakistan)

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S.No.	Type of Audit	Audits Executed 2019-20	Audits Planned 2020-21	New Normal 2020-21 In Case of COVID -19
1	Financial Attest Audits	3	3	3
2	Foreign Aided Project (FAP) Audits	41	48	48
3	Compliance with Authority Audit	241	311	200
4	Performance Audit	3	3	2
5	Special Audits	4	4	2
6	PSDP Audit	0	5	0
Total		389	374	255

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Way Forward

ASOSAI to assist SAIs to prepare organic strategies
Combining experiences and development of standards for disaster response and policy evaluation by enhancing cooperation and sharing knowledge, experience, and lessons learned
Bringing in element of standardization in reporting

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