forensic auditing for PAC Members, while introduced for audit staff, had not yet reached fruition, nor had plans to develop procedures to follow up recommendations made by the PACs. The Beechworth seminar also
heard that the Accountant General had been able to clear up much of his reporting backlog and planned increases in staff training had also been accomplished. Turning to the Audit Act, the del-
egation reported that the National Assembly was waiting to see if the
ing, with the reports actually being debated in Parliament. Capacity building, with donor assistance, is needed as all Members of both PACs are new, and better co-ordination between national and state PACs would deepen the examination of government programmes, as would more funds for the Auditor General’s office and the establishment of a sep- arate Auditor General’s Office. Currently, audit staff is scattered around ministries which undermines their independence by letting them become too familiar with ministry
new computerized audit programme.
An audit should be done of rev-
enue as well as expenditure, and per- formance audits should be done sepa- rately so they are not lost in the gen- eral audit reports.The revenue issue proved to be a problem in Nigeria as Members reported that some min- istries, departments and agencies were not remitting their tax money to the Treasury.A special PAC subcommit- tee could be fully established to check on revenue and a reporting procedure, overseen by several offices,
The old Parliament House at La Trobe.
country’s new President would sign it into law and was preparing to press for this to happen if there were delays.The new act would create an Audit Commission and would allow the Auditor General to hire his or her own staff rather than using staff hired by the civil service. The election of new national and
state Assemblies provided Nigeria as a whole with an opportunity to imple- ment many changes, some of which the delegation enumerated. The PACs could increase the fre- quency of their reports from one very year or two to quarterly report-
personnel.A total of U.S.$120 million was provided in this year’s budget for such an office. It was hoped that this project, while expensive,would begin so it could be completed within the life of the current Parliament. In the coming year, the delega- tion said it hoped to begin complet- ing the statutory audit reports, rather than completing a partial report each year that is never fol- lowed up by a complete report.A conference of national and state Auditors General would be valuable, as would the provision of internet services for all 36 state offices and a
should be implemented to ensure revenue is reconciled properly. Despite already facing a backlog,
the Nigerians said parastatal bodies should also be audited and reports referred to the PACs.Audits should be conducted within three months of the year end, the Auditor General should file reports in Parliament within 30 days thereafter and Parliament should then refer the reports to the PACs.
Improving the framework in the Solomon Islands
While the Solomon Islands have an The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue Four 347