December 2021. We were assigned to support the improvement of accountability and transparency in public finance management in Pohnpei State of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), by providing assistance to the Pohnpei Office of the Public Auditor (POPA).

Four Assist, as leader firm, implemented this project in consortium with PHP Audit CJSC (Armenia). The Government of Armenia had initiated reforms in the area of the public sector internal audit. The project was funded by the World Bank in the form of an IDF grant to assist the Ministry of Finance. The objective was to strengthen the institutional framework and build capacity in public sector internal audit in Armenia.

The project supported the Central Harmonization Unit (CHU) of the Ministry of Finance to:

• test on a broader scale the internal audit methodology developed in the Ministry of Finance, government agencies, municipal and community administrations and non-commercial organisations;
• based on broader piloting, update the legislative framework and develop a detailed implementation strategy;
• design a robust Unified Internal Audit Information Management System (UIAIMS) which will help enforce the methodology and ensure consistency in its application across various internal audit units;
• assist in skill development of the CHU staff; and
• conduct pilot internal audits and standard training for the transfer of knowledge and skills needed to implement the methodology (including training of trainers).

We were recently assigned to support the improvement of accountability and transparency in public finance management in Pohnpei State of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), by providing assistance to the Pohnpei Office of the Public Auditor (POPA). Our team leader, Mr Gurdip Bhambra, building on a lifetime career in a SAI, he is positioned perfectly to conduct this project.