Audit watchdog aims to set example

Alastair Swarbrick, Auditor General of the Cayman Islands

(CNS): As the public sector landscape in Cayman develops and grows and new ways of delivering services are implemented, the changes can put management and financial control environments at increased risk. However, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has published a strategic plan about its aims and objectives and how the team intends to improve public service delivery and value for money for the public purse.

Facing numerous challenges, Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick has released a report about the work his office does, how and why they do it and how the public can measure the performance of the team.

Following the release of two more damning reports that demonstrate the significant challenges that still exist in government over the mismanagement of taxpayers’ money, the auditor is determined to clean house and lead by example.

He said the changes that are taking place in the civil service do so at a time when “trust in the systems of government has significantly eroded, with concerns about the ability of the public sector to manage the resources it has at its disposal in a responsible, ethical and transparent manner”, making it more important than ever that there is accountability from those in positions of responsibility over public expenditure.

Setting out how the office will play its part in helping to improve things, Swarbrick said the OAG provides a “credible and reliable source of information to government, legislators and society” and his audits contribute to strengthening the public sector with the reporting of the work and the promotion of accountability, financial sustainability and the efficient, effective and economic use of resources.

However, Swarbrick said his office would know that it has made progress when public entities respond to and act on its recommendations. Evidence from the most recent reports suggest that government is still struggling in that regard as well as completing  quality accounts on time — another yardstick that Swarbrick said would demonstrate his office was making headway.

Swarbrick also noted the need for a separate public audit law to safeguard the independence of the office and how it reports to legislators.

“It is essential that in our role that we are seen as a benchmark for the public sector in the way that we are governed, managed and use scarce public resources. We must ensure that how we are governed and managed is open, transparent and accountable, is in line with the principles of good governance, and promotes the standards we expect of others,” Swarbrick stated in the report.

The document — Delivering Value – Strategic Plan 2015 to 2019 — outlines the mission and strategy and the OAG’s the comprehensive website also gives a detailed plan of the audits and investigations of government entities the office will continue to do.

This report is about demonstrating how his office can have an impact, the auditor said when he released the report last week.

“This strategic plan provides a clear vision of where we want to be in five years and how we plan to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves,” he said. “The plan includes a complete performance reporting framework for Legislators and the public to hold the Office to account for how it does its work.”