As part of its continuous training programme, the National Audit Office (NAO) recently held a set of seminars on developing audit methods and enhancing skills in specific auditing fields.
It included the second session of the second phase in Forensic Audit training in cooperation with Kroll International and dealt with “Testifying before the Court and Public Prosecution”. The course was presented by Mr. Obaid Al-Kadhimi, Managing Director Expert Services at Kroll International and attended by 29 employees from various NAO directorates.
The participants learnt about the litigation process and how to be an effective expert witness, gain a working knowledge of different evidence types, differentiate between facts, assumptions, inferences and opinions, and deal with cross-examination.
The course included expert witness regional regulations, the role of an expert witness, demonstrating an auditor’s expert credentials, strategies for effective direct examination, essential communication skills needed when presenting evidence to the court and strategies for successfully handling cross examination.
The second phase of the program launched earlier this year, includes 3 training workshops that discuss “Forensic Audit Techniques” (held last March), “Testifying before the Court and Public Prosecution” and “Studying Fraud and Risk Indicators and ‘red flag’.”
The first phase of the program included 6 workshops on “Overview on Forensic Auditing and Financial Crimes”, “Advanced Analysis of Big Data”, “E-discovery Techniques”, “Investigative Interview Techniques”, “Work Paper Design and Maintenance” and “Forensic Reporting and Evidencing” and received a 91% satisfaction score from its participants.
In addition, the NAO organized training on auditing banks and the banking sector in cooperation with the Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance (BIBF) and specialists in this field which was attended by 24 employees from various NAO directorates.
The program included two training workshops. The first workshop, presented by Mr. Amir Abdul Ghani Dairi, Chief Financial Officer at BisB, covered “Understanding Bank Financial Statements” and discussed the analysis of financial statements, financial auditing procedures and important developments in the banking sector.
The second workshop, presented by Ms. Savita Raghavan, Capital Markets and Banking Services Expert at the BIBF, dealt with "Understanding Bank Compliance" and discussed the laws and regulations governing the banking sector.
Furthermore, NAO employees participated in training on "International Accounting Standards in the Public Sector: Theory and Practice", which was held in the State of Kuwait and organized by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Center for Economics and Finance in the Middle East.
The course aimed at identifying the basic requirements of international accounting standards in the public sector and offered practical guidance on how to use and apply these standards.
