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Training on Risk-Based Financial Audit
December 22:
Commenced from 20 December till 29 December 2010, the Royal
Audit Authority has embarked on imparting training on
Risk-based Financial Audit to its officials. About 26
officials are attending the training facilitated by four
experts from Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Chartered
Accountants, Kolkata, India. The training is divided into
two spells covering important aspects of the risk-based
approach to Financial Audit. The first spell began from 20
December, 2010 and will end on 22 December 2010. The second
spell is scheduled from 27- 29 December, 2010.
 The
first spell of the training is facilitated by Mr. Ketan Vora,
Partner and Mr. Sagar Sakar, Audit Manager covering sessions
on Controls Assessment, Audit Sampling, Audit Documentaion,
Audit Materiality
and Analytical Procedures. The second spell of the
training will be facilitated by Mrs. Bhavani Subramanian,
Partner and Mr. Ashesh B. Jani,
Partner covering sessions on Risk Assessment. The
training is framed to impart necessary skills on risk-based
approach to Financial Audit to the officials of the RAA and
to conceptualise the approach within the Royal Audit
Authority.
The Royal Audit Authority had been conducting certification
audit on financial audit of donor/ external loan funded
projects ever since Bhutan started availing developmental
funding assiantance from external donors and lenders such as
Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, IFAD, Government of
India and other multi-lateral agencies. In the year 2006,
the RAA had embarked upon conducting the financial audit of
budgetary agencies of the Royal Government of Bhutan,
although the RAA started certifying the Annual Financial
Statements of the RGoB since 2004.
The RAA over the period of last few years had concentrated
on shift from the traditional compliance based audit to
perfomance and theme based audit. This was done in line with
the requirements enshrined in the Constitution of the
Kingdom of Bhutan to audit and report on the economy,
efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public resources.
With this approach, indeed the RAA has created tremendous
impact in the society.
While it is the RAA’s obligation to continuously strive to
enhance the performance audit, it has embarked on adopting
risk-based audit approach in its financial audit. The
approach was adopted as the theme during the 13th Annual
Audit Conference held from 21-23 July 2010 and gained
stimulus from the members. The RAA conceptualised and
adopted the approach to be implemented soon after the
formation of core- group. Accordingly, the core-group
comprising six members was formed on 30 September, 2010.
Also in order to operationalise the concept, the RAA has
developed the Financial Audit Manual in line with the
requirements outlined in the RAA’s Auditing Standards and
International Standards on Auditing.
With this approach introduced, the RAA is optimistic of
achieving the commitments made for next five years. Unlike
in the past years, the auditors will not be concentrating on
every transaction being made by the audited agencies, which
was in fact too time consuming and out of reach for the
small number of auditors. With this approach, the auditors
will be required to concentrate on risk areas only, without
having to go through each and every transaction. Promoting
the concept of risk-based audit approach is Strategy No. 1.3
under Programme Goal No. 3 of the RAA’s Strategic Plan
2010-15. With the dawn of the New Year, the RAA plans to
conduct pilot audit of few agencies involving experts from
Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Koltaka, India
during the period January to June 2011.
The training is funded by the World Bank.
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