Events

AFROSAI-E Technical Support to the NAO on Quality Assurance and Performance Audit

On February 28, 2022, a team from AFROSAI-E visited the National Audit office (NAO) of the Gambia on a two-week long period to provide technical support on Quality Assurance (QA) and Performance Audit (PA). The visit was facilitated by support from the World Bank through its Gambia Fiscal Management Development Project.

During the opening meeting with the team, Auditor General (AG) Karamba Touray shared, “this technical support by AFROSAI-E is very timely, considering the increasing demand to conduct various audits including performance audits.” AG Touray further shared that going forward, it is crucial for the NAO to establish a robust QA unit and build its staff capacity, as outlined in the NAO’s Strategic Development Plan 2020 – 2024. AG Touray concluded that the establishment of the QA unit will enhance the quality of work performed by the NAO, as well as those outsourced to private audit firms.

 

Technical Support on Quality Assurance

This support included working with the NAO staff to produce an annual QA plan. In addition, the AFROSAI-E team also conducted refresher trainings on the following areas:

• Quality Assurance concepts
• INTOSAI Framework of Professional Pronouncements (IFPP)
• Brainstorming on the NAO QA processes in place
• Discussion on Annual Plan, QAR Universe, and Macro Risk Assessment

Technical Support on Performance Audit

The support on Performance audit centered on refresher training on developing a PA strategy, annual operational planning, and sector assessments as well as strategy to publicize PA reports.

The discussion also included a session on when and how PA audit recommendations should be followed, and what to do with follow-up recommendations as well as the importance of implementing recommendations.

The technical support aims to build capacity of NAO staff to improve staff knowledge and skills to enhance the quality of audits conducted by the NAO.