Agenda of the workshop on Public finance management and audit in Jordan, Amman 4-5 November 2014. For further information please contact brian.finn@oecd.org.

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Final AGENDA
“PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT IN JORDAN”
A PROGRAMME FOR REFORM
4-5 November 2014
InterContinental Hotel
Amman, Jordan

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Background
The National Integrity Charter (2013) seeks to ensure that the fight against corruption enables the dignity of the citizens of Jordan to be preserved and their assets to be safeguarded through the enforcement of laws, regulations and instructions based upon transparency, justice and equality. In particular the Charter enables the empowering of oversight agencies, which should be immune to any influence and should perform their duties and exercise their powers with complete independence, accountable only to citizens and the legislative authority.
The First Aspect of the Executive Plan of the Charter sets out the specific actions required to achieve the objectives of the Charter by enhancing the role of public oversight agencies, including the Audit Bureau (AB). These actions include the need to amend the Audit Law, to revisit and develop the regulatory structure of the Audit Bureau, to upgrade the human capacity of the Audit Bureau, to revisit and upgrade the AB’s infrastructure, to develop legislative frameworks to ensure co-ordination between the AB, the Anti-Corruption Commissions and the Ombudsman Bureau, to revisit the method of preparing AB reports and to establish a mechanism of co-ordination between the AB and General Budget Department.
The Second Aspect of the Executive Plan sets out the actions required to enhance the role of internal control units to include all types of control (financial and administrative), with the role, mission and responsibilities of these units outlined. These units would be able to replace the AB in its performance of pre-audit.
The reform plans of the AB envisage its progressive transformation into an independent external audit institution with an essential role of ex post oversight within the public finance system but the current legal framework does not provide sufficient financial and administrative independence from the Government. The AB developed draft amendments to the current Audit Law in 2010. These amendments have since been discussed and revised several times. In 2013, the latest version of the amendments, which included: financial and administrative independence; judicial powers; legal immunity for AB President and staff; and other matters was approved, except for the judicial powers, by the Cabinet. The draft amendments have since been with Parliament.
The AB aims to examine if the projects and programmes of the Government are executed legally, effectively and efficiently through the application of external audit techniques which are based on international standards and good international practice. Given the relatively weak capacities of internal control systems in certain budget users, the AB continues to undertake a pre-audit function of transactions and procurement in those agencies. The AB has been working towards withdrawal from this pre-audit function since 2010, in association with financial management reforms proposed for the Ministry of Finance (MoF), to ensure that the AB will provide an independent and effective external function in future.
The AB and the MoF signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2011 aimed at the gradual withdrawal by AB from its pre-audit activities. The AB has completed several detailed studies on the situation of internal control units in the public institutions, in order to co-ordinate with MoF on which institutions withdrawal shall first be applied. These studies have resulted in a multi-year training plan to reinforce internal control units, developed by MoF with input from AB. At the same time, formal requests are put forward by the Government for AB to undertake pre-audit in certain ministries and other budget users. Also Parliament puts pressure on AB to undertake pre-audit which Parliament considers will have a significant impact on the prevention of fraud and corruption.
Objectives
This workshop will provide international experiences from institutions of EU Member States with experience of significant reform and practical experience from national entities currently engaged in the reform processes in Jordan.

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The objectives for the workshop are to discuss with the main stakeholders of the reform the need for:
 The Audit Law to comply with international auditing standards, having particular regard to AB’s financial, administrative and operational independence; and
 The implementation of AB’s planned withdrawal from its pre-audit activities.
The workshop will also provide the basic inputs for a road map to set out the key issues that will need to be addressed.

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PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT IN JORDAN
A PROGRAMME FOR REFORM
TIMETABLE
DAY 1
TOPIC
PRESENTER
09.00
Registration
All Participants
09.30
Welcome
H.E. Mr. Mohammad AL Saudi, Chair of Finance Committee
H.E Mr. Mustafa Al-Barari, President of AB
H.E. Dr. Ezzedine Kanakrieh, Secretary general of the Ministry of Finance
09.45
Workshop Objectives and Timetable
Mr. Brian Finn, SIGMA
10.00
Refreshments
Hotel
10.30
The International Context:
Standards and Their Relevance to Jordan
(COSO, INTOSAI, Jordanian Laws and Regulations)
This session will briefly set out the foundations upon which the necessary reforms to accountability processes, transparent decision-making and the need for the independence of the oversight institutions will need to be based.
Mr. Phil Duncombe, SIGMA
11.30
The Challenges for Reforming Accountability Mechanisms – a Parliamentary Perspective
This session will describe the experiences of an EU Member State in successfully implementing reform processes in its public oversight mechanisms.
Mr. Colin Breed, former Member of the UK Parliament
12.30
Lunch
Hotel
13.30
The Challenges for Reforming Accountability Mechanisms – an SAI perspective
This session will describe the challenges facing the SAI when undertaking a major reform and provide real examples of how it overcame them.
Mr. Philip Mariscal, Court of Accounts of Belgium,
14.30
Discussion of Issues Arising from Presentations and from Participants’ Experiences
Workshop Groupings
Facilitated by SIGMA, AB, MoF
15.30
Wrap-up and Close of Day 1
SIGMA

5. 5
DAY 2
TOPIC
PRESENTER
09.30
Foreseen Role of AB and Plan for Withdrawal from Pre-Audit
This session will describe the current situation regarding the plan for AB to withdraw from its pre- audit activities. It will cover the Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the Ministry of Finance and the results of the reviews by AB of the internal control units. It will set out the planned timetable for withdrawal by AB.
H.E Mr. Mustafa Al-Barari, President of Audit Bureau
10.15
Refreshments
Hotel
10.45
Case Study 1: Successful Introduction of an Internal Control Unit, Ministry of Finance
This session will provide a real example of how the internal control systems of the Ministry have been strengthened to prepare for the withdrawal of the AB from its pre-audit activities.
Secretary General Assistant for Financial and Administration Issues (TBC)
11.15
Working Groups’ Discussion
All Participants and Presenters
The discussions will focus on the key issues arising from the presentations with a view to identifying the specific activities required to address the issues, with an associated time frame and a responsible institution.
Particular attention will be given to:
 The main systems and procedures which need to be strengthened (in Parliament, in AB, in budget entities and, if appropriate, elsewhere)
 The need for changes to laws and regulations
From this information, a responsible institution will be able to prepare a road map for circulation to all participants after the workshop so that the necessary actions will be undertaken.
13.00
Lunch
Hotel
14.00
Reports’ Back from Working Groups
Rapporteurs from Working Groups
15.00
Summary of Workshop
SIGMA
If the participants agree, a working group might be established to assist the responsible institutions in taking forward the agreed actions.
15.30
Close and Vote of Thanks
SIGMA