Leaders Programs

Using the SAI Performance Measurement Framework: Guyana, Rwanda, Senegal and Vietnam

Two to three representatives from each SAI participated in this Leaders Program, in which they planned and managed an assessment of their SAI using the SAI Performance Measurement Framework (PMF). The SAI PMF is an International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) tool that can be used to conduct a holistic and evidence-based assessment of a SAI against international standards and good practices, with the results supporting strategic planning and capacity development.

The Leaders Program began with training and working sessions held in Ottawa in October 2023. Instructors from the INTOSAI Development Initiative delivered a workshop on the PMF methodology and the steps required to conduct an assessment. Several Canadian partners joined us for this workshop and then contributed to the assessments. Following the workshop, CAAF worked with the participants as they developed terms of reference and planned their assessments.

In 2024-25, the participants led the assessments of their SAIs. CAAF and Canadian partners took part in the assessments, focusing on the indicators related to performance auditing, and then provided ongoing support and feedback as the teams wrote their assessment reports.

Holding Effective Hearings on Performance Audit Reports: Guyana

In October 2022, as Guyana’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was preparing to hold its first hearings on performance audit reports, we held a week-long Leaders Program providing an opportunity for the PAC to see Canadian oversight practices in action and to learn from PACs and auditors in British Columbia and Ontario. Four members of the PAC, four parliamentary support staff, and the Auditor General participated. They observed a PAC hearing and a question period and met with PAC members, the Speaker, PAC staff, and the OAG in British Columbia, and met with the OAG of Ontario. They also participated in several working sessions with CAAF to plan their way forward for reviewing performance audit reports. Following the Leaders Program, the PAC told us “Members appreciated that the questions asked when scrutinizing performance audits were quite different than they would ask about financial audits” and “support staff gained a better understanding of all the preparatory work that is required prior to scrutinizing performance audits.”

Gender Mainstreaming for SAIs: Guyana, Rwanda, Senegal and Vietnam

Two representatives from each SAI participated in this Leaders Program, which began in October 2020. Through virtual workshops and mentoring, the participants learned about key gender equality concepts, conducted a gender assessment of their office, and drafted gender mainstreaming strategies and action plans for their SAI.

In May 2024, the participants came to Ottawa for a one-week in-person program. During this week, they took part in sessions on Gender-based Analysis Plus and gender-responsive budgeting, as well as on leadership and change management, and they shared their draft strategies and exchanged feedback. Following the workshop, CAAF provided ongoing support as the participants continued refining their strategies and action plans. This included on-site work with the recently established gender committees at the SAIs of Guyana and Rwanda.

Learn more: SAI Leaders Program on Gender Mainstreaming

How performance audits are used to hold government to account: Vietnam

An 8-person delegation, representing Vietnam’s SAI and the National Assembly’s Committee for Finance and Budgetary Affairs, visited Ottawa in April 2019 to learn about the practices of Canadian audit offices and oversight committees and how legislation supports effective performance auditing. Through a series of working sessions and meetings with audit offices and oversight committees at the federal, provincial and municipal levels, the delegation members were able to identify practices they found important to reflect upon as they prepared to consider changes to Vietnam’s legislation.

Learn more: Vietnamese Delegation Learns from Canadian Performance Audit and Oversight Practices

Audit Topic Selection and Multi-Year Planning: Cameroon, Ghana, Tanzania and Vietnam

Vu Thi Thanh Hai (Vietnam), Eric Omengue (Cameroon), George Haule (Tanzania), and George Winful (Ghana), September 2016

Before coming to Canada, each of these four senior managers reviewed and assessed the current multi-year planning process at his or her SAI. Then during two weeks in Ottawa, they studied different approaches to audit selection and multi-year planning processes, discussed the strengths and weaknesses of their SAIs' existing practices, and developed plans to design and implement improved processes in their countries. The facilitators shared a decision framework developed by us (and presented in our Discussion Paper on this topic) that presents the key questions to ask when making decisions in the design of a multi-year audit planning process, the range of options for each of these questions, and the main considerations in deciding among the options. The participants also received presentations from the OAGs of Canada, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and the City of Ottawa, and the Department of Justice Canada's Internal Audit Branch.

Performance Audit Supervision and Review: Vietnam

Cao Tan Duong, Hoang Thi Vinh Thuy, Vu Thi Thanh Hai, Nguyen Tuan Trung, and Han Thi Bich Hong, March 2015

These five managers focused on working to improve and standardize the supervision and review of performance audits at their SAI. This is an important need for the SAI at this time, as it develops its new performance audit practice, conducts its first performance audits, and develops its audit manuals. The participants visited the OAGs of Canada, Nova Scotia, and Alberta to learn about these offices’ practices for managing, supervising and reviewing performance audits. They also participated in a series of training and working sessions on managing the audit process, as well as leadership, coaching and team management skills.

Environmental Auditing Capacity Building: Ghana

Lawrence Ayagiba, January 2015

Lawrence Ayagiba, an Assistant Auditor General (and graduate Fellow, 2009-10) worked with us on the course design and planning for our new environmental auditing course, tailoring it to the needs of the Ghana office and to the context of environmental issues in Africa. The course was designed and developed with significant contributions from the OAGs of Québec and of British Columbia, and also from retired experts from the OAG of Canada and the SAI of the United States. The course was then successfully delivered in Ghana from 8–13 March 2015. During his Leaders Program Mr. Ayagiba also visited to the OAG of Canada to learn about its approach to multi-year performance audit planning.

Stakeholder Relations and Communications Strategy: Cameroon and Tanzania

Olivier Essama and Louise Mbangue (Cameroon), and Benja Majura and Sarah Reuben (Tanzania), November-December 2014

Olivier Essama and Louise Mbangue of Cameroon and Benja Majura and Sarah Reuben of Tanzania studied stakeholder relations and drafted communications strategies for their SAIs, addressing their offices’ relations with Parliament, oversight committees, media and civil society. They visited the OAGs of Canada, Québec, and Nova Scotia, as well as the municipal audit offices of Halifax and Québec City, to learn about their practices and review their communications strategies. They also observed the tabling of the Auditor General of Canada’s Fall 2014 Report and attended a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee. They worked with a team of mentors at our office to develop communications strategies for their SAIs.

Strategic and Operational Planning: Ghana

Johnson Asiedu, April-May 2014

During Assistant Auditor General Johnson Asiedu's Leaders Program, he met with the OAG of Canada, OAG of Ontario, and federal agencies including Canada Border Services Agency, Treasury Board, and Health Canada. He worked closely with our Associate Lee McCormack to examine Canadian practices in planning and see what improvements could be made to the structure, content and process of developing the 2015-2019 strategic plan and 2015 operational plan at his SAI. During his time in Canada, he began to develop his SAI's strategic plan and outlined a detailed process to complete it on his return to Ghana. The strategic plan was completed and approved by the board of the SAI in December 2014. Since his Leaders Program, Mr. Asiedu has been promoted to Deputy Auditor General.

Quality Control and Assurance: Cameroon

Rose Djila, October-November 2013

Rose Djila’s Leaders Program program included short placements at the OAGs of Canada and Québec and meetings with internal auditors for the Québec Ministry of Justice, Société d’assurance Automobile du Québec, and the Auditor General of Montréal’s Société de transport. She also worked with our mentors to produce a guide for her SAI on quality control and assurance of its audits. This guide was developed as a complement to the audit manual already developed by the SAI, as part of a separate Canadian-funded project.