Click Here to View theOriginal APIPA 2010 Website

The Association of Pacific Island Public Auditors (APIPA) held its 21st annual conference on Pohnpei July 19-23, 2010.  The conference was hosted by the Pohnpei State Office of the Public Auditor (OPA).  The Graduate School provided training and logistical support to the conference through its Pacific Islands Training Initiative (PITI) program, giving conference participants the opportunity to receive up to 40 hours of continuing professional education (CPE).  All courses were held at the College of Micronesia campus.

Participants

Three hundred and thirty-seven (337) participants attended this year’s conference, up slightly from the 323 participants who attended last year’s conference on Guam.  Participation in recent years is shown in this table:

Year Location # of Participants
2010 Pohnpei

337
2009 Guam

323
2008 Saipan

200
2007 American Samoa

111

Attendance in 2007 was lower than in most recent years primarily because of the greater difficulty and expense of traveling to American Samoa for most potential participants.

Participants came from American Samoa, Chuuk, CNMI, Guam, Kosrae, Marshall Islands, Palau, Pohnpei, and Yap.  In all, 1,921 course certificates were awarded for a total of 11,332 hours of CPE.

Instructors and Courses

Five instructors led the training sessions:  Bill Allen, Frank Crawford, Phil Flora, Steven Morgan, and Jeanne Yamamura.  Twenty-one (21) courses were provided during the conference in four training tracks:  Audit, Audit Supervisory, Finance, and Advanced Finance.  The instructors, course titles and number of participants attending each course are shown in the following table:

Instructor Course Title Number of Students
Morgan Strengthening Accountability and Transparency through Performance Auditing

 277
Yamamura Introduction to Nonstatistical Sampling for Auditors

             37
Morgan Audit Survey:  Developing Preliminary Findings and Audit Objectives

            43
Flora Change Management

105
Crawford The New Fund Balance:  What Do We Have Now and Where Will It Be Shown?

             133
Flora Interviewing Techniques for Auditors

            42
Crawford Government Accounting Update:  From A to Z

            139
Yamamura Managing Generations in the Workplace

81
Yamamura Annual Update for Finance Managers

    61
Morgan Audit Evidence, Effective Documentation, and Reporting

44
Crawford Performeter Update:  How Are You Doing and Where Are You Going?

25
Yamamura Preparing Component Units for the Financial Statement Year-End-Close

89
Flora Contract and Procurement Fraud

            121
Crawford An In-Depth Look at the AICPA State and Local Government Audit Risk Alert

25
Flora GAGAS Review and Update

70
Allen Grants:  Cost Principles

124
Morgan Auditor Responsibilities to Deter and Detect Fraud

      66
Crawford What Makes a Good Auditor?

35
Allen Managing Audit Assignments

33
Morgan Linking Performance Management Controls and Measurement to Fraud

            126
Crawford The Prevention and Detection of Fraud

            245

Total Number of Certificates Awarded: 

1,921

APIPA Executive Meeting

An APIPA Executive Meeting was held in the evening of July 21st.  Attendees included all the principals or their proxies from the various Pacific audit offices, other key Pohnpei State OPA staff, and PITI Program Manager Jason Aubuchon.

Notes and Observations

The APIPA website (http://apipa2010.org) was a key tool for planning, organizing and administering the conference.  Complete course schedules were offered on the website, as well as online conference registration, course descriptions, and background information about the instructors.

The staff of the Pohnpei State Office of the Public Auditor devoted many hours of work to make the conference a success.  Their efforts are greatly appreciated.  Special thanks also to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs for funding the training element of the program via the Pacific Islands Training Initiative (PITI).