The Commission of Audit (CA) is conducting a two-week course on International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) for its staff, in order to let them upgrade their knowledge in this field and become acquainted with experience related to the application of these standards internationally. For delivering the course, CA invited experienced trainers from the Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan, which plays a central role in training within the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI).

The Commission of Audit (CA), in cooperation with the Macau Society of Registered Auditors, carried out in November 26 and 28 two courses through which its staff consolidated and updated their professional knowledge. The course on the first day centred on internal control and was conducted by Eric Yeung e Bernard Li, two professionals in risks control services from Hong Kong. The course on November 28 was devoted to enterprise risk management and Charles Andrew Ellis and Christopher Tang, two specialists in the field in Hong Kong, took turn to deliver the presentation. Sixty seven staffs of CA performing related functions took part in the two courses where they reviewed with the lecturers the theories and other relevant aspects in internal control and risk management.

The Commissioner of Audit, Ho Veng On, led a delegation to participate in the 8th General Assembly of the Organization of the Supreme Audit Institutions of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (OISC/CPLP), held in Brasilia, Brazil, from 16 to 19 September. The Commission of Audit of Macau (CA) participated as an observer.

In cooperation with the Court of Auditors of Portugal, the Commission of Audit of Macau (CA) has been carrying out a series of training courses in order to broaden the professional skills of its staff. Following the courses on audit law and financial audit delivered earlier, Ms. Júlia Serrano, finance director of the Court of Auditors of Portugal, is presently lecturing a five-day course on public accounting, which started on June 16. A total of 21 senior officers from CA, Legislative Assembly, Public Prosecutions Office, Commission Against Corruption and Financial Services Bureau are participating.

The Commissioner of Audit of Macau SAR, Ho Veng On, led a delegation to visit the China National Audit Office (CNAO) and Nanjing Audit University (NAU) last week, with the aim of deepening cooperation with both institutions in audit area.

In order to enhance the professional skills on Financial Audit of the staff of the Commission of Audit (CA) of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and at the same time, to strengthen exchanges with the Portuguese-speaking countries, CA invited Maria da Luz Faria, Senior Audit Coordinator of the Court of Auditors of Portugal, to deliver a training course on Financial Audit in Macau from 19 to 23 May. The course includes 15 participants from CA, Legislative Assembly of Macau, Financial Services Bureau of Macau, Monetary Authority of Macao and Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau Macau SAR, and also 5 magistrates of Mozambique, which is a member of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) of the Portuguese-speaking countries, were specifically delegated to travel to Macau to participate in the training course.

In order to promote the academic exchange in the audit between Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, China Society of Audit organized the “Seminar on Audit Theory and Practice across the Straits and in Hong Kong and Macau — 2014”, which took place in the city of Taian in Shandong Province, from 12 to 16 May. Nearly 40 representatives participated in the seminar. The Director of the Audit Bureau, Neoh Hwai Beng, participated in the seminar and led a delegation which includes the personnel of Commission of Audit (CA), the assistant professor Zhang Xu of the University of Macau, the associate professor Peng Yanchong and the department head Lin Yingjie of the Macau Polytechnic Institute.

In order to enhance the professional skills of the staff of the Commission of Audit (CA) and at the same time to deepen exchanges with the Supreme Audit Institutions of the Portuguese-speaking countries, CA invited Alexandra Pessanha, assistant to the President of the Court of Auditors of Portugal, to deliver a training course from 8 to 11 April, during which the trainer addressed legal issues that auditors face when conducting audit in Portugal and in the European Union, and also shared her experience with the participants. CA’s staff involved in audit works participated in the training.

In order to reinforce the saving culture among the public departments and to ensure the legality and reasonableness of the application of public funds, the Commission of Audit (CA) constantly conducts seminars on audit culture for public departments, through which CA further strengthens the communication with the auditees and creates a relationship of interaction rather than confrontation with them. On 28 March, CA conducted a seminar on audit culture for the staff of the Cultural Industries Fund, during which they got acquainted with the importance of audit works and deepened their awareness of proper application of public funds. During the seminar, CA briefed on measures and rules being applied to computer assisted auditing of accounts and emphasized, from the perspective of audit, the importance of enhancing performance in implementing Government policies.

In order to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the financial audit works, the Commission of Audit (CA) of Macau SAR and the Center for Information Technology (CIT) of China National Audit Office (CNAO) signed a cooperation agreement in 2011, to jointly develop the audit software “On-site Audit System (Macau edition)”. After two successive phases of tests and adjustments, CA accepted the delivery of the system last year and applied it extensively in auditing the government accounts. In order to allow the auditors to further understand the functions and operations of the system, Yang Yunyi, the chief of CIT, the division head Sun Zhonghe and Wang Shuai, the engineer who participated throughout the development, were invited to Macau to deliver a training course on the functions of the system, with a focus on practical operating and maintenance techniques.

From 3 to 12 December 2013, the Commissioner of Audit, Ho Veng On, successively participated in the XXVII Congress of the Association of Members of Courts of Accounts of Brazil (ATRICON), held in Vitoria, Brazil, and, as member of the Chinese delegation, in the XXIII General Assembly of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS), in Santiago, capital of Chile.

In order to strengthen the exchange of audit techniques and experiences between Macau and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), the Commission of Audit (CA) held a meeting today with the delegations of the supreme audit institutions (SAI) of the Portuguese speaking countries, which participated in the XXI Congress of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), in Beijing, last week.