Auditing Public Sector Projects and Programs. Speaker : Sanjay Vani The World Bank Washington DC

Transcription

1 Auditing Public Sector Projects and Programs By Speaker : Sanjay Vani The World Bank Washington DC

2 What is a Project and What is a Program? Auditing Public Sector Projects and Programs - Outline Stages in the life of a Project and role of audit Audit which, when Perspectives of management, donor, parliament Typical Issues in the audit of public sector projects/programs

3 What is project and program? Project - A project can be the construction of a new building, the implementation of a computer system, a major staff reorganization etc. Program a set of projects to achieve a broader goal

4 Auditing Public Sector Projects and Programs Audit Objectives: Deliverables Has the project achieved the stated objective? Compliance Is the project in compliance with laws, rules, and regulations? Cost Are the project costs within the budget? Time Is the project on track to complete on time? Performance Are we getting value for money? Stakeholder Do the key stakeholders support the project objectives?

5 Audit at various Stages in Public Sector Projects Design Completeness of the design - specifications prepared solely to restrict competition; splitting Cost Estimates - work quantities excessively estimated and this information is provided to the favored bidder Bidding Technical Qualification - insufficient contracting capacity/track record Construction Quantity and Quality acceptance of defective works Change Orders modifications to favor the contractor Contract Oversight Post Construction Defects/Warranty Maintenance

6 Which projects to audit? Planning an audit of a Project/Program When is the best time to carry out an audit of a project? Do we have the necessary resource and specialist skills? How much time to invest in auditing the project(s)?

7 Role of Civil Society Organizations in Audit Relatively novel phenomenon but increasing trend in using Civil Society Organizations in Participatory Audit mechanism for citizens active participation in the audit process. CSOs provide useful and evidence-based information to the auditors Examples: Social Audits Tracking Expenditures with Communities in Rajasthan (India) Monitoring Follow-up to the Auditor General s Report: The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) in South Africa Participatory Audits: The Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) in the Philippines. Crowd sourcing to identify potential audit areas in Holland

8 Challenges in the Audit of Projects/Programs Complexity of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) limited skills, projects pose significant risks

9 Audit of PPP Projects Provide reasonable assurance about the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the PPP arrangement and that the infusion of the private sector has resulted in improving the value for money for the government. Cover the PPP sequentially from formulation, bid evaluation, construction, concession aspects to end of the PPP contract. Audit of valuation of the assets at the beginning and end of the contract.

10 Challenges in the Audit of Projects/Programs - Continued The fact that there may be many interrelated projects spanning several years does present a challenge. This necessitates additional time to plan, organize and coordinate. Dilemma in the audit of programs: Compliance orientated focus - veracity of controls; or Evaluative focus veracity of actual program outcomes/results

11 Perspectives of Stakeholders in Audit Management Compliance Efficiency Value addition of audit Donor Environmental Impact of the Project Transparency (particularly in procurement) Results (not just outputs) Parliament Performance

12 Lack of specialist skills Typical Issues in the audit of projects/programs Weak audit quality management Weak audit report writing skills

13 Audit of Public Sector Projects and Programs Question? and Answers