Catalog

1.

Legal name of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI)

2.

Institutional Authority (Please attach a copy of relevant initiating and enabling legislation.)

3.

Date of passage

4.

Date of expiration (if any)

5.

Legal address

6.

Postal address

7.

Email address

8.

Telephone Number (Please include country and area codes)

9.

Fax/Telex Number

Structure of the SAI

10.

Describe fully how the SAI is structured both internally (obtain an organization chart) and in relation to the major components of the Government.

11.

List the following regarding regional or local offices (if any).

12.

Describe fully how the above offices are affiliated with the main office and how they are supervised.

Independence and Financial Resources

13.

Are written guidelines covering independence standards, rules, and procedures provided to staff and auditees?  (If so, attach a copy.)

14.

Does the SAI station staff in the offices of auditees all year? If so, is there a policy to rotate them to the offices of other auditees and typically how often are they rotated?

15.

Describe fully how the SAI establishes and maintains independence from the Government units it audits and the branch of government supervising them.

16.

Describe how the SAI maintains audit work confidentiality.

17.

What branch of government does the SAI report to and to what branch/unit of government does the SAI address and deliver audit reports?

18.

What branch of government sets/approves the SAI's annual budget and work plan?

19.

How much is the SAI's current year budget, by major category?

20.

Does the SAI charge a fee or recover the cost of the audit from the auditee?

Staff Resources

21.

How many staff does the SAI employ?

(A)

22.

How many are considered professional staff?

23.

How many are considered clerical/support staff?  

(A)

24.

How many professional staff are members of national professional accounting bodies

25.

How many professional staff are members of foreign professional accounting bodies?

26.

Describe the academic and professional qualifications needed to become a member of the national professional accounting/auditing body. Also indicate whether there is a requirement to take a minimum number of continuing education courses to retain membership (indicate how many hours/days required).

27.

Describe the minimum qualifications and training the SAI requires for entry level auditors.

28.

Describe the SAI's system to retain and promote staff, indicating at least:

·         whether clear job classifications and descriptions exist,
·         whether individual staff development plans are prepared,
·         whether personnel evaluations are undertaken on a regular basis,
·         whether evaluations are based on established performance targets, and
·         whether permanent personnel files are maintained on each staff member.

Management Policies and Procedures

29.

Describe the process by which the Auditor General is appointed, indicating the branch of government responsibly for his/her appointment and the process and conditions that must prevail to remove an Auditor General from office.

30.

Describe the process by which senior staff are appointed in the Office of the Auditor General, indicate whether they enjoy as much protection as the Auditor General does, indicate whether they are part of a permanent civil service.

31.

Describe who or which branch of government has the authority to set audit policies and establish audit procedures.

32.

Describe who or what rank within the Auditor General's Office has the authority to represent the SAI in official communications with external funding agencies.

33.

Describe who has authority to sign audit opinions, reports and official letters.

Audit Procedures and Methodologies

34.

Describe whether the Auditor General's Office's uses INTOSAI, ISA or national audit standards. Where national standards are used, how similar/different are they to either INTOSAI or ISA standards. Indicate whether the SAI is a member of INTOSAI.

35.

Describe how the Auditor General's Office documents the audit standards to be used and how is this procedure updated.

36.

Describe the auditing standards used by private sector auditors if they undertake an audit of a State Owned Enterprise (SOE) on behalf of/under contract to the Auditor General.

37.

Describe the auditing standards used by private sector auditors when they audit publicly listed/traded companies (contrast with item 36 above).

38.

Broadly describe the audit standards used for compliance audits and for performance audits.

Audit Planning, Documentation, and Quality Control

39.

Describe the audit planning process and its documentation, including assessments of risk and materiality. Is a proscribed planning document generated for each audit undertaken?

40.

Describe whether an engagement letter or equivalent document is used to clearly establish responsibilities for the audit.

41.

Describe whether internal controls are tested in every financial audit engagement and whether a report is produced that summarizes this testing, the results observed and the conclusions reached.

42.

Describe the procedures used to document audit evidence obtained during audits and to document the conclusions drawn as a result of the audit testing. Indicate whether detailed audit programs are always used.

43.

Describe the steps taken to detect fraud and error, and what procedures are followed if fraud and error are detected.

44.

Describe whether the work of the SAI is subject to peer review, if so describe the arrangements and the results of the most recent peer review.

45.

Describe the process whereby the audit reports issued by the Auditor General are made public. Indicate whether this is through the legislature or whether they are published.

Recent Audit Experience

 46.

 Describe the composition of audit work performed during the last fiscal year, as follows:

 47.

 List recent financial audit engagements of the SAI relating to government agencies/units, as follows:

48.

Describe Audit experience on audits of multilateral or bilateral assistance projects, as follows. 

Suggested Weighting

Independence of the SAI

300

Experience    

200

Audit Methodology

200

Personnel and training

300

      Total Points

1,000