by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada
- Working session on auditing asset declarations at the National Cricket Stadium
- Grenada joined 175 states parties when it signed on to the United Nations Convention against Corruption
The staff of the Integrity Commission, Audit Department, Director of public prosecution and the Financial Intelligence Unit will start day 2 of the second working session on auditing asset declarations which began on Monday at the National Cricket Stadium.
This training provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is geared at sharpening the skills of the Integrity Commission to better verify the contents of asset declaration by the Integrity in public Life ACT no 24 of 2013 and compliments the previous training received by the Integrity Commission in December 2017.
Anti-Corruption Advisor, UNODC Virginia De Abajo Marques and Anti-Corruption Consultant Tim Steele, delivered the training, and as part of the training, participants will be given the opportunity to test their ability to apply what they have learned from the previous workshop.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Monday, Chairman of the Integrity Commission Lady Anande Trotman-Joseph said this further training is necessary for the commission to carry out its mandate. “With this level of training, we know that we will improve the competences of our national compliance officers, our auditors, and our prosecutors as we begin to implement our national anti-corruption system in a more robust manner. The compliance process requires that these declarations must be examined for their truthfulness and accuracy so, therefore, this workshop is critical in ensuring that we are able to determine the true net worth of our public officers and to ensure that this methodology meets not only regional but international best practices.”
Grenada joined 175 states parties when it signed on to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), take the firm commitment to undertake efforts to prevent corruption especially in public life. Steele said major emphasis will be placed on ensuring that the staff of the Integrity Commission can reconstruct of an individual financial position. “It important that participants understand how to use accounting forensic to identify any gaps in the declarations submitted and would require further follow up but sometimes these irregularities are hard to spot but generally, as you develop the skills they will begin to see the irregularities.”
De Abajo Marques says another important aspect of the training will be the discussion on anti-corruption strategy on Thursday. “As of Thursday, we will be taking the first steps to identify the areas of priority for Grenada to work on anti-corruption taking into account the recommendations that have already been given by governmental experts during the 1st review cycle and prepare for the 2nd review cycle.”
The second working session on auditing asset declarations will conclude on Wednesday, 25 April 2018 with the distribution of certificates to participants.
