On behalf of the members of the Association of Pacific Islands Public Auditors, and as chairman of the seventeenth annual APIPA conference, it is my pleasure to welcome you to apipa2006.org. The Office of the FSM Public Auditor is excited to host this year's APIPA conference in Pohnpei, July 24 - 28, 2006, and as we continue with conference preparation we are pleased to offer this site to conference participants.

The size of the APIPA conferences continue to grow, with a record 273 participants attending last year's meeting in Palau. We have been working hard to design a dynamic program for APIPA 2006 to support the ongoing education that has become an integral part of our professions. With first-class instructors and a wide range of financial and auditing courses planned, I have no doubt that each participant will find great value in their time in Pohnpei, and will return home energized and ready to support their respective institutions and agencies.

We are particularly honored that the Hawaii State Auditor, Ms. Marion Higa, has agreed to provide the keynote address at this year's APIPA conference. Ms. Higa was reappointed to a second, eight-year term in 2000 by unanimous vote, and has been with the Office of the Hawaii State Auditor for over 35 years. In addition to her considerable auditing experience, Ms. Higa was recently appointed to the U.S. Comptroller General's Advisory Council on Auditing Standards for a four-year term, and has much to offer our islands as we work to strengthen our own transparency and accountability. We look forward to welcoming Ms. Higa to Pohnpei and to APIPA 2006.

Finally, I'd like to express my appreciation to the United States Department of Interior, Office of Insular Affairs, and the Graduate School, USDA's Pacific Islands Training Initiative, for their ongoing support of APIPA and our annual conferences.

With that, I invite you to explore the resources on this website and encourage you to join us in Pohnpei for the seventeenth annual APIPA conference.