RIGA, October 2024 — Auditor General/Director of Audit Maylina Jno Ville and Auditors Ann Marie George and Arthur Peterson Pemberton from SAI Dominica concluded two intense weeks of capacity development on 24 October in Rīga. The delegation from the Commonwealth of Dominica’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) visited Latvia’s SAI under the framework of the Global SAI Accountability Initiative (GSAI).
"Overall, the experiences from the study visit have equipped us with the valuable knowledge, fresh perspective, and unique insights necessary to conduct more impactful audits and strengthen our institutional standing. We are grateful for the opportunity to engage in peer collaboration and look forward to applying these experiences to enhance our audit practices," said Ms. Jno Ville of SAI Dominica.
During the two-week visit, SAI Dominica explored methods of engagement with various stakeholders. SAI Latvia shared its practices in working with different actors at various audit stages through training and meetings with the civil society organisation Sustento and the Public Council of SAI Latvia. The Public Expenditure and Accounts Committee of Latvia’s Parliament (Saeima) is a key partner in holding the government to account on audit recommendations, and SAI Dominica was there was able to both witness the parliamentary committee in action and meet the Chair of the Committee, Gatis Liepiņš.
The auditors of SAI Latvia shared their knowledge and skills on topics in workshops, including:
- Data analysis as a method of audit,
- Ethics in audit work,
- Communicating audit results,
- Selecting audit topics and risk analysis,
- Planning and evidence gathering for compliance audits and
- Leveraging IT tools
The GSAI project participants worked together on the compliance and performance audit manuals to be developed within the project, and on one specific performance audit report. The study visit fell on Global Ethics Day, and SAI Dominica colleagues joined in the SAI Latvia commemoration ceremony, featuring a speech by Sanita Osipova, the Honorable Supreme Court Judge of Latvia, highlighting the importance of cooperation and independence.
The INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) had Muhammad Wahyudi in attendance for the first week of meetings and training sessions to facilitate discussions about future cooperation amongst the partners. In addition, the Caribbean Organisation for Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI) representative Karen Bell joined the group online to discuss collaboration in 2025 and the possibility of sharing project results in the broader context of the CAROSAI region.
The overall objective of the project is to Enable SAI Dominica to conduct more impactful audits and strengthen its institutional standing through peer collaboration.
The project has four components:
C0. Project management and coordination
C1. Audit competencies, quality, processes, and results
C2. Independence and stakeholder engagement
C3. ICT development for effective audit work