What role do auditors play in letting the sunshine into government? In island communities, transparency in the public sector perhaps carries more risk than in larger communities. But there may be hope, as there was hope for Andy, the banker/convict/accountant and his best friend in Shawshank Prison. Ms. Higa will discuss Hawaii's public policy on openness, their audit experiences with that policy, and recent developments from the 2006 Legislature.

Unfortunately, we live in an age when scandal seems to abound. Hardly a week goes by, it seems, without new revelations of scandal by both public and private sector employees. Many organizations (to name a few: the United Nations, Enron, WorldCom, the US Defense Department, Boeing, etc.) have recently been deeply affected by serious misconduct by their respective employees. Public service is a trust--to be conducted by public employees in the best interests of the people they serve. This seminar will review the general ethical principles which should guide all public sector employees in the conduct of their organizational activities.

Performance audits focus on evaluating program results, management controls, cost-effectiveness and efficiency of operations. This creates unique challenges for conducting performance audits, even though the performance audit process is similar to the financial audit process. Attend this class to learn more about conducting performance audits and useful techniques to achieve the objectives of performance auditing.

Performance audit is all about problems: identifying them, assessing their significance, solving them. This course will show how the elements of a finding work as a system of problem analysis. How the system works depends on how the auditor understands the relationships among the elements, and how performance measures drive the development of a finding. The afternooon will focus on what kind of finding works best for your report. Must a finding include all of the elements? Is a positive finding reportable? And what if the issue is not a problem, but the benefit of some new program? Different kinds of finding might be appropriate for different circumstances. This course focuses on how to choose the best kind of finding and use it either to demonstrate problems or substantiate the benefit of an innovation.

This session will take a new look at finding fraud, using several tools that you have had in your possession since your were born--your brain, ears, mouth, eyes and gut. We will look closely at the process of "brainstorming" and "interviewing" techniques used in detecting fraud and fraudulent behavior. Also, we will spend some time learning what to look for in order to spot potential fraud and what we can do to minimize fraud risks. "Chances are" that you will be better at finding fraud after this session.

Performance auditors quickly learn that they write for a living, no matter how oriented to numbers analysis they might be. What should an audit report look like? What should it include? This course focuses on the typical structures for audit reporting: how they can be adapted, and what varied purposes they serve. The afternoon will focus on reaching the audience of your audit reports. Who would read an audit report? Actually, audit reports are widely read by a variety of readers. While not every word of every report can serve all of these readers, every report should probably serve a defined variety of readers to some extent. How to perform this balancing act, while ensuring full coverage of the evidence-and a concise presentation at the same time-is the challenge faced by performance auditors. This course examines the function of each section of an audit report and the needs of the various audiences they serve.

Did you know that the American Institute of CPAs has issued several new audit standards? Many of these standards deal with things that your office deals with on a day-to-day basis. Audit risk assessments, internal control matters, and audit documentation to mention a few. This session will focus on the major changes and the impact they may have on your government. This is a "risky business" we're in, and now standards are being revamped to recognize it.

Cumulatively, many trillions of dollars are spent by government organizations, large and small, in the conduct of millions of procurement activities. The requirements of all government organizations can only be met through a responsive and responsible public procurement system that fairly, efficiently and honestly spends funds to acquire public needs. This seminar will provide an overview of the public procurement process with which auditors should be familiar. Additionally, the seminar will focus on recognizing indicators of fraud so that auditors will become better able to spot misconduct and thus help eliminate it.

Each performance audit is typically unique, so audit planning and monitoring require due diligence. How are project hours and timelines determined and tracked? When is it appropriate to revise work plans? In addition to addressing these questions, this session will incorporate managing the expectations of the audit--such as the review of internal controls--and the work papers that support the audit process and results. Attend this class to answer these and other questions about keeping audit projects timely, on schedule and within budget.

As a member of the U.S. Comptroller General's Advisory Council on Auditing Standards, Ms. Higa will discuss the trends emerging from the updated standards under development for 2007. Like Inspector Jacques Clouseau, played originally by Peter Sellers and reprised by Steve Martin, we auditors "investigate" wrongdoing and more. But hopefully we can see beyond our noses as Inspector Clouseau could not.

Reviewing audit reports is an activity performed by a member of the writing team, meant to enhance the final product. This course shows reviewers how to survive the process, and how to communicate with the auditors who wrote the draft. It establishes a step-by-step process for reviewing, and shows where opportunities arise during that process to interact with the writers.

How are you measuring your office's performance? Does staff understand the organization's goals and participate actively in strategies to achieve those goals? These are two important questions to answer as you consider developing or updating your strategic plan Participants will learn tips for establishing or maintaining functional strategic plans. If you have a strategic plan, office goals and performance measures bring them to this session.

What does government do? How is government responsible for the common good? Not everything about government is necessarily auditable. This course uses a model for government activity as a basis for identifying what can be audited. It addresses what kinds of performance measures can be applied to what kinds of activity, and the relationships among various kinds of performance measures. Never be swept off course during the field work again!

This 2 ½ day course is a hands-on introduction to governmental accounting and reporting. Participants will gain a basic understanding of governmental accounting and reporting principles. The session will include a discussion of basic fund accounting concepts and financial reporting issues related to the insular governments. Attendees will leave the course with a more complete understanding of double-entry accounting, reconciliations, accounting terminology, and financial statements.

This one-day course has been designed to introduce participants to the basic requirements of a financial statement audit. Coverage will include professional standards, planning, audit procedures and types of evidence, audit reports, internal control considerations, documentation, and wrap up procedures. This course will enable you to understand what your auditors are doing and how they come up with the never-ending lists of things for you to do and locate for them.

Does the GASB have a spy in their midst? Perhaps. This session will cover recent GASB accounting standards for financial reporting and even newer accounting issues that are emerging that will soon be standards. In addition, we will visit numerous issues still pending with the implementation of GASB Statement 34. Topics to be covered include capital assets, other post-employment benefits, statistical schedules and many more. After a whole day of GASB standards, you will probably feel like crying "U.N.C.L.E.!

In addition to the important objectives of promoting reliability of financial and program data and safeguarding resources, management controls are also designed to provide assurance that operations are effective, efficient and in compliance with mandates. What are some best practices for designing and implementing management controls? Attend this class to learn more about your crucial role as a manager in implementing effective controls.

The Performeter® analysis is now in full swing for most of your governments. How does your score compare to previous years? How does your score compare to other insular governments? What is causing the scores to fluctuate? What can you do to improve the scores? These questions and more will be asked and answered in this session. Once you get the score, you should ask yourself, "Is this as good as it gets?"

As a follow-on to the "Pre Award an Award: Procurement Considerations" course, this post-award segment shall continue its analysis of an effective public procurement program, considering fundamental contract administration actions, to include monitoring contactor performance to ensure the government gets what it needs and what it has paid for; inspection and acceptance procedures; making and managing changes to government contracts; contract dispute resolution techniques; contract terminations for "cause" and for "convenience"; and contract close out.

The conduct of a public procurement program is a critical function at each and every level of government. The procurement process itself can be both complex and convoluted, and, as such, it oftentimes suffers from inefficiency, ineptitude and misconduct. In the pre-award segment of this course, we shall consider such important topics as identifying and justifying agency requirements; sole source considerations; soliciting government needs, to include "sealed bidding" and "best value" procurements; generating viable competition among vendors; the fair evaluation of vendor offers; risk allocation between the government and contractors, to include types of contract vehicles (e.g., fixed price, cost reimbursement, and indefinite delivery); and drafting critical contract terms and conditions, to include choice of law clauses.