Participants of the eLearning course in action during the design writeshop held on 25-26 July, 1-2, 5-9 August 2019 at the Professional and Institutional Development Sector.

To enhance the knowledge and skills of auditors on basic Information Technology (IT) audit, the Commission on Audit (COA) Professional and Institutional Development Sector, through the Professional Development Office, and in collaboration with the Systems and Technical Services Sector, launched the first eLearning Course on IT Audit on 9 September 2019.

The eLearning course on IT Audit, which will run from 9 September to 25 October 2019, is part of the Commission’s initiative to leverage the use of technology for learning. The course introduces concepts in data analysis to enable COA auditors to understand and perform data analysis and provides insight on how to extract, transform, and analyze data using tools like Microsoft Excel and SQL.

The Province of Bulacan awarded Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Michael G. Aguinaldo with the 2019 Gawad Dangal ng Lipi, an award given to exceptional sons and daughters of Bulacan. The awarding ceremony was held at The Pavilion, Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center in Malolos, Bulacan on 15 September 2019.

Chairperson Aguinaldo was cited for his exceptional contributions and achievements in the public and private sectors: “Dahil sa kanyang tapat na paglilingkod ng may paninindigan at walang kinikilingan ay maituturing siyang huwaran ng isang tunay na lingkod bayan na siyang bumubuhay sa tiwala ng mamamayan sa Sistema at integridad ng pamahalaan.”

Governor Daniel R. Fernando of Bulacan presents the Gawad Dangal ng Lipi to Commission on Audit Chairperson Michael G. Aguinaldo on 15 September 2019 at Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center, Malolos City. They were accompanied by Vice-Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado and Chairman Herminio S. Esguerra of Dangal ng Bulacan Foundation, Inc.

Class picture of the 2019 SEDP graduates with (seated from right to the left) Assistant Commissioner Alexander B. Juliano, Commissioner Jose A. Fabia, Chairperson Michael G. Aguinaldo, Commissioner Roland C. Pondoc, and Assistant Commissioners Elizabeth S. Zosa, Winnie Rose H. Encallado, and Luz L. Tolentino taken at the COA Professional Development Center Auditorium on 29 August 2019.

The Commission on Audit held its 28th Senior Executive Development Program (SEDP) graduation ceremony for 49 COA senior executives coming from different batches/classes who had successfully defended their policy papers from 2017 to August 2019. Attended by the COA officials and families of the candidates for SEDP graduation, the simple ceremony was held at the COA Professional Development Center Auditorium on 29 August 2019.

Members of the Commission Proper (CP) headed by Chairperson Michael G. Aguinaldo, together with Commissioners Jose A. Fabia and Roland C. Pondoc, graced the event to congratulate and give their inspirational messages to the graduates. The members of the CP said the wealth of ideas that could be harnessed from the pool of policy papers will be very useful for COA as it can be used to craft new policies and kick-start further studies.

Chairperson Aguinaldo thanked and congratulated the graduates. He said, "Part of the graduates' pledge is to be a change agent as you have seen areas that really needs change. Rest assured that your proposed policy papers will be acted on sooner or later."

Participants of the seminar on Financial Audit held at the Professional Development Center, COA, Commonwealth Ave., QC on 11-15 February 2019.

Quezon City – To improve its audit services and to enhance the degree of confidence of intended users in public financial statements, the Commission on Audit (COA) recently developed the Financial Audit Manual (FAM) that is compliant with International Standards in auditing. The FAM was subsequently adopted through COA Resolution No. 2019-004 in March 22, 2019. The manual will be launched in the Commission’s website this month of August and shall be included among the regular training courses of the COA Professional and Institutional Development Sector (PIDS) starting this year.

The Commission developed the FAM in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Regional Capacity Development Technical Assistance entitled: Enhancing the Roles of Supreme Audit Institutions in Selected Association of South East Asian Nations. The project was funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

The Commission worked with consultants from the ADB to develop the FAM which contains tailor-made templates for e-auditing. The partnership ensured that the FAM would be customized and adapted to guide COA auditors and audit teams in the conduct of financial audit of all agencies of the government.

Compliant with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs), the FAM ensures the Commission meets the expectations of stakeholders through quality audits and strengthen accountability and transparency of government. With the adoption of FAM, COA has put in place policies and procedures for its auditors which interpret and implement the standards in the context of COA.