»On the Job« Training - Auditing From Theory to Practice

In cooperation with Montenegrin Ministry of Finance, CEF has delivered »On the Job« practical work (OTJ) in June and July 2015 for six internal auditors, who have completed Level 1 of Training of Internal Auditors in the Public Sector (TIAPS). Practical work should contribute directly to the development of their professional competencies and give them opportunity to contextualize the theory they learned during the in-class training and preparation for the exams. The auditors were divided into two pilot groups and the practical work was facilitated by two local consultants from the Ministry of Finance and by an international consultant from CEF.

The topic of the OTJ practical work in both teams was “The audit of travel costs and related subsistence allowances” and the audit assignments targeted the auditors’ working environments. Both teams spent 4 days total in the field with the local and international consultants; 2 days in the 1st phase for planning the audit and 2 days in the 2nd phase for analyzing and wrapping up findings and reporting. They had 3 weeks of work period between both phases to conduct an interview with the auditee, gather the audit evidence, and prepare draft documentation and final audit report. During that time, local consultants provided expert advice and mentoring to the groups.

The pilot mission’s evaluation results will provide a good base for planning future OTJ practical work for TIAPS students of all training generations in Montenegro. The practical work will continue in smaller groups till November 2016.