Parliamentarians and Auditors from UK and Overseas Territories come together to discuss good practice on oversight of public finances

Key actors from the UK and the Overseas Territories (OTs) will meet to identify and develop good practice with the aim of enhancing oversight of public finance.

The Oversight of Public Finances Forum 2019 will run from 5-7 March 2019 and will be attended by Chairs of Public Accounts Committees (PAC); parliamentary clerks; and Heads of Internal and External Audit from Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St Helena, Turks & Caicos Islands, the UK, and Virgin Islands (UK).

This is the second Forum bringing together these key actors to explore the issue of public financial oversight under the banner of the UK Overseas Territories Project. The project is an initiative delivered in partnership by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK), UK National Audit Office (NAO) and the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) along with participating OTs.

The Project was launched in 2017 where OTs identified areas where support would be welcome, and activities were tailored to address those areas. These included clerk attachments from the UK devolved legislatures and Crown Dependencies to PACs in the OTs; multilateral training for External Auditors; secondments to the GIAA; and workshops for parliamentarians and officials in the OTs, Westminster, Scotland and Wales.

The Oversight of Public Finances Forum 2019 will explore progress in OTs to date, address some of the common challenges faced by PACs, Internal and External Audit agencies and explore future activities in the next phase of the project to ensure long-lasting impact.

Chair of the Cayman Islands PAC, Hon. Ezzard Miller stated:

“The UKOTP Oversight of Public Finance Forum is a great initiative: Thought provoking, insightful and stimulating. Previous UKOTP conferences have all been excellently curated, the workshops instructive and the speakers illuminating. These seminars have helped me to make improvements in how the Cayman Islands Public Accounts Committee function and report to the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly.”

Member of the Scottish Parliament, Jackie Baillie MSP stated:

“Providing oversight and scrutiny of public finances is a crucial function of legislatures and I look forward to the opportunity to share experiences and learning with colleagues from across the UK and Overseas Territories.

This Forum is also unique in that it brings together parliamentarians, internal and external auditors. This will further enhance our capacity and build a bigger picture of oversight of public finances.”