About this learning event

According to an internationally accepted definition, internal auditing provides independent and objective assurance in three key areas: risk management, internal control, and governance. Internal auditing therefore plays a crucial role in supporting efficient and effective governance. This online course will bring together internal auditors across SEE to discuss their role in governance processes, providing assurance on processes and structures put in place to help the public sector organization achieve its objectives. We will also discuss how to support change and innovation in institutions.

Who should attend

This online course has been designed for internal audit professionals, auditors of IPA funds from ministries of finance, line ministries and other public institutions from SEE countries. The online course is also relevant for public officials working at the central harmonization units.

As the course is designed to combine multiple dimensions of learning (reflective, theoretical, and practical), participants should have a good command of English to be able to fully engage in course activities.

How will you benefit

The course will combine introductory presentations with group discussions and case study work and will be a guide toward the steps internal auditors should take when reviewing governance. This course will also explain the importance of internal audit’s role in being interactive and participative while providing assurance over the organization. Sufficient time is integrated for question-and-answer sessions so participants can benefit from practical examples and peer-to-peer professional experience sharing.

By the end of the course, participants will have:

• Reviewed governance definition and key concepts
• Increased awareness on the essential role of governance in public sector organizations
• Discussed the importance of effective governance and challenges that organizations in public sector encounter
• Analyzed the internal audit role in auditing governance
• Emphasized the importance of ethics and behaviors in auditing governance development
• Explained auditing EU funds governance
• Gained knowledge on the role of the three lines model in the public sector
• Compared good practices on auditing governance in the region

Faculty

• Pilar Ormijana, Senior Policy Adviser OECD, SIGMA

Pilar holds a degree in Economics (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), specializing in Public Finance Management and has over 29 years of experience as an expert in internal control, internal audit and public financial management at the Ministry of Finance in Spain. She has developed most of her professional career in IGAE, the public body responsible for PIFC in the Spanish public sector at State level, where she held several positions starting in the area of auditing governance. Pilar hold also the position of the Deputy Head of Division responsible for standards and coordination of internal audit in Ministries and other public bodies and Deputy Head of the Audit Authority for EU Funds. She worked for six years in the Permanent Representation of Spain at the EU, as the Counsellor responsible for the negotiations of the Multiannual Financial Framework and the Cohesion Regulations 2014-2020, and the annual budgets 2009-2012. She was responsible, between 2014 and 2017, for setting the Spanish Antifraud Coordination Service (AFCOS) in the area of EU Funds. Her last position before joining SIGMA was Head of the Support Unit of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office. Between 2014 and 2017 she has participated as expert in several SIGMA and GOV projects (in Algeria, Serbia and Slovakia), as well as in some twinning projects in Algeria, Egypt and Moldova. She has represented Spain in the Public Internal Control network coordinated by the European Commission (DG Budget) between 2014 and 2017. She works as a Senior Policy Adviser –PIFC area in SIGMA since November 2020.

• Reint Smit, Ministry of Finance, the Netherlands 

Reint is an officer in the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA). He started his career in 1981 at the Netherlands Defense Academy as an officer cadet of the Royal Artillery. He switched in 2003 within the RNLA to internal/operational audit. Since then he held various positions within internal audit. He was two times on mission in Bosnia and Hercegovina. The last time, 2013, as senior advisor at the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Hercegovina. Reint is seconded in 2014 from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Finance. There he is an audit manager at the Central Government Audit Service (CGAS). He has special attention for culture and behavior. Behind every finding, there is behavior of people. If we know why people behave the way they do we can use that as a connecting point trying to change their behavior. In his spare time, he likes to travel and observe the different habits in the different regions, plays volleyball and is trainer/coach of a women’s volleyball team. 

Partners

This learning initiative was supported by: