A watchdog, not a bloodhound
After a year of inter-regnum when the National Audit Office was without a head, Anthony C. Mifsud was unanimously approved by Parliament as the new Auditor General on July 16. When Mr Mifsud was informed of his new posting, this meant, he said, that...
After a year of inter-regnum when the National Audit Office was without a head, Anthony C. Mifsud was unanimously approved by Parliament as the new Auditor General on July 16.
When Mr Mifsud was informed of his new posting, this meant, he said, that both sides of the House of Representatives held the civil service in high esteem.
"The House could have picked any two persons to fill the posts of Auditor General and Deputy Auditor General. Instead two permanent secretaries were selected. Both posts require two-thirds backing of the Members of Parliament and the approval was unanimous," Mr Mifsud said.
The appointment is for a five-year term that may be renewed once.
"I spent 35 years at the Office of the Prime Minister and have worked under six prime ministers.
"This post is the climax of my career, in the sense that I have come full circle from my days at the Treasury to working mainly with reforms on how to enhance efficiency and good governance."
The previous tenure by the former Auditor General, Joseph G. Galea, who had completed two five-year terms, came to an end on July 28 last year. Although work at the National Audit Office (NAO) went ahead, the reports prepared by the Office could not be signed because technically, Mr Galea was no longer Auditor General.
Mr Mifsud was sworn in on August 7 and his baptism of fire came immediately thereafter when Leader of the Opposition Charles Mangion and Labour MPs Helena Dalli and Chris Agius, all three forming part of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), called for an investigation into two direct orders, one for parking facilities and the other for security services at Mater Dei Hospital.
"This is not the kind of job that brings you friends in its wake. We audit material errors and shortcomings in government financial and other operations. We also look into lack of good practice which is generally not due to fraud but to lack of adherence to financial rules and regulations, weaknesses in internal controls and mismanagement," Mr Mifsud said.
"During the audits and investigations, the NAO requests heads of department to react to the NAO audit reports. The departments would then furnish us with their own comments."
Substantial shortcomings are taken up by the PAC which will ask the officers involved to appear before it to answer for their shortcomings.
"The PAC is known to grill people quite thoroughly," said Mr Mifsud.
The Auditor General can also recommend to the minister responsible for the department concerned to make good for a financial loss, although this practice has rarely, if ever, been enforced.
"At the end of the day, it is the head of the department concerned who has to answer for discrepancies. The NAO has the power to submit recommendations.
"We propose to the PAC to tackle major issues identified in the NAO reports."
Being reprimanded by the PAC is not to be taken lightly. Being red-carded by the committee can mean being overlooked in the running for promotions.
A good part of the muscle of the NAO is its professional staff.
As things stand now, the Office requires 15 more professionals, preferably accountants, although other graduates such as in economics, management, statistics and IT are also considered.
"The problem is partly caused by the demand in the financial services sector, which does not only include audit firms that head-hunt accountants.
"A private firm looking for an accountant can afford to offer applicants an attractive remuneration package which the NAO is not in a position to match. In fact, the Office suffered a significant drain of its human resources in the past few years," Mr Mifsud said.
Having said that, however, the NAO offers its staff sponsorship for further studies.
Moreover, carrying out audits in the public service is interesting and provides an excellent overview of how the public service works, Mr Mifsud added.
In recent years only a handful have applied for NAO posts. One primary reason includes the opportunities that private sector auditors have in working abroad with international auditing firms, through the local correspondent firms.
The main attraction of working with the NAO is the fact that the work offers a broad overview of the whole public service.
There are departments, such as VAT, customs and inland revenue, where arrears creep in because of a lack of cooperation by the clients or lack of sufficient enforcement by the departments concerned.
The time taken to carry out an audit can vary widely depending on the issues uncovered during the conduct of the audit and on the cooperation afforded by officers in the departments being audited.
"We examine contracts and sometimes seek advice from experts on the matters in hand. Although we are not given a timeframe to conclude a report, we usually strive to carry out an audit or PAC enquiry within a reasonable timeframe, subject to human resources available for the examination concerned," Mr Mifsud said.
The NAO and the PAC together act as a strong deterrent against irregularities and encourage public officers to carry out their work diligently.
Mr Mifsud would like to explore certain practices from Scandinavian countries, particularly Finland, which is considered the least corrupt country in the world. He also considers the NAO (UK) as a role model for the Office in view of the similarities that exist between the two Offices and the excellent reputation that the NAO (UK) has in public-sector auditing methodology.
It's basically a question of culture of doing things correctly, a culture that has improved since Malta joined the EU.
"We are not bloodhounds but watchdogs. For things to improve, where good financial management, accountability, efficiency, economy and effectiveness are concerned, the auditees, namely the persons being questioned about their work practices, have to cooperate more and not come up with excuses."
Factbox
It was in 1997 that the Audit Office was moved from the Ministry of Finance and placed under the House of Representatives.
Previously the Office was headed by a Director of Audit who was appointed like other government directors.
Generally the NAO follows up requests for enquiries either by the Ministry of Finance or the PAC. In the latter case, the call has to be made by three PAC members. The NAO can also carry out special audits of its own accord.
Once the reports by the Auditor General are signed and passed on to Mr Speaker, they are placed on the table of the House, which means that they enter the public domain. The Auditor General has the right to examine if the organisation being audited "has used the funds and resources available to it effectively, efficiently and economically without incurring expenditure which is unnecessary".
But he cannot go "into the merits of any policy or objective" of the organisation being audited.
He is the guardian but not the keeper of the public purse.
Bio
A career civil servant, Mr Mifsud started out at the Treasury and his last posting was as Permanent Secretary at the former Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure.
Following recommendation of the Public Service Reform Commission, in 1990 he was entrusted to set up the Staff Development Organisation.
In 1994 Mr Mifsud was elected to the executive committee of the Standing Conference of the European Public Service Training Agencies which he chaired for four years.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development of the UK.
He represents the government on the board of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy at the University of Malta.
Mr Mifsud is married to Doreen née Callus and they have two sons, Mark and Karl.
When Mr Mifsud was informed of his new posting, this meant, he said, that both sides of the House of Representatives held the civil service in high esteem.
"The House could have picked any two persons to fill the posts of Auditor General and Deputy Auditor General. Instead two permanent secretaries were selected. Both posts require two-thirds backing of the Members of Parliament and the approval was unanimous," Mr Mifsud said.
The appointment is for a five-year term that may be renewed once.
"I spent 35 years at the Office of the Prime Minister and have worked under six prime ministers.
"This post is the climax of my career, in the sense that I have come full circle from my days at the Treasury to working mainly with reforms on how to enhance efficiency and good governance."
The previous tenure by the former Auditor General, Joseph G. Galea, who had completed two five-year terms, came to an end on July 28 last year. Although work at the National Audit Office (NAO) went ahead, the reports prepared by the Office could not be signed because technically, Mr Galea was no longer Auditor General.
Mr Mifsud was sworn in on August 7 and his baptism of fire came immediately thereafter when Leader of the Opposition Charles Mangion and Labour MPs Helena Dalli and Chris Agius, all three forming part of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), called for an investigation into two direct orders, one for parking facilities and the other for security services at Mater Dei Hospital.
"This is not the kind of job that brings you friends in its wake. We audit material errors and shortcomings in government financial and other operations. We also look into lack of good practice which is generally not due to fraud but to lack of adherence to financial rules and regulations, weaknesses in internal controls and mismanagement," Mr Mifsud said.
"During the audits and investigations, the NAO requests heads of department to react to the NAO audit reports. The departments would then furnish us with their own comments."
Substantial shortcomings are taken up by the PAC which will ask the officers involved to appear before it to answer for their shortcomings.
"The PAC is known to grill people quite thoroughly," said Mr Mifsud.
The Auditor General can also recommend to the minister responsible for the department concerned to make good for a financial loss, although this practice has rarely, if ever, been enforced.
"At the end of the day, it is the head of the department concerned who has to answer for discrepancies. The NAO has the power to submit recommendations.
"We propose to the PAC to tackle major issues identified in the NAO reports."
Being reprimanded by the PAC is not to be taken lightly. Being red-carded by the committee can mean being overlooked in the running for promotions.
A good part of the muscle of the NAO is its professional staff.
As things stand now, the Office requires 15 more professionals, preferably accountants, although other graduates such as in economics, management, statistics and IT are also considered.
"The problem is partly caused by the demand in the financial services sector, which does not only include audit firms that head-hunt accountants.
"A private firm looking for an accountant can afford to offer applicants an attractive remuneration package which the NAO is not in a position to match. In fact, the Office suffered a significant drain of its human resources in the past few years," Mr Mifsud said.
Having said that, however, the NAO offers its staff sponsorship for further studies.
Moreover, carrying out audits in the public service is interesting and provides an excellent overview of how the public service works, Mr Mifsud added.
In recent years only a handful have applied for NAO posts. One primary reason includes the opportunities that private sector auditors have in working abroad with international auditing firms, through the local correspondent firms.
The main attraction of working with the NAO is the fact that the work offers a broad overview of the whole public service.
There are departments, such as VAT, customs and inland revenue, where arrears creep in because of a lack of cooperation by the clients or lack of sufficient enforcement by the departments concerned.
The time taken to carry out an audit can vary widely depending on the issues uncovered during the conduct of the audit and on the cooperation afforded by officers in the departments being audited.
"We examine contracts and sometimes seek advice from experts on the matters in hand. Although we are not given a timeframe to conclude a report, we usually strive to carry out an audit or PAC enquiry within a reasonable timeframe, subject to human resources available for the examination concerned," Mr Mifsud said.
The NAO and the PAC together act as a strong deterrent against irregularities and encourage public officers to carry out their work diligently.
Mr Mifsud would like to explore certain practices from Scandinavian countries, particularly Finland, which is considered the least corrupt country in the world. He also considers the NAO (UK) as a role model for the Office in view of the similarities that exist between the two Offices and the excellent reputation that the NAO (UK) has in public-sector auditing methodology.
It's basically a question of culture of doing things correctly, a culture that has improved since Malta joined the EU.
"We are not bloodhounds but watchdogs. For things to improve, where good financial management, accountability, efficiency, economy and effectiveness are concerned, the auditees, namely the persons being questioned about their work practices, have to cooperate more and not come up with excuses."
Factbox
It was in 1997 that the Audit Office was moved from the Ministry of Finance and placed under the House of Representatives.
Previously the Office was headed by a Director of Audit who was appointed like other government directors.
Generally the NAO follows up requests for enquiries either by the Ministry of Finance or the PAC. In the latter case, the call has to be made by three PAC members. The NAO can also carry out special audits of its own accord.
Once the reports by the Auditor General are signed and passed on to Mr Speaker, they are placed on the table of the House, which means that they enter the public domain. The Auditor General has the right to examine if the organisation being audited "has used the funds and resources available to it effectively, efficiently and economically without incurring expenditure which is unnecessary".
But he cannot go "into the merits of any policy or objective" of the organisation being audited.
He is the guardian but not the keeper of the public purse.
Bio
A career civil servant, Mr Mifsud started out at the Treasury and his last posting was as Permanent Secretary at the former Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure.
Following recommendation of the Public Service Reform Commission, in 1990 he was entrusted to set up the Staff Development Organisation.
In 1994 Mr Mifsud was elected to the executive committee of the Standing Conference of the European Public Service Training Agencies which he chaired for four years.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development of the UK.
He represents the government on the board of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy at the University of Malta.
Mr Mifsud is married to Doreen née Callus and they have two sons, Mark and Karl.