Programs empowering employees and raising their capabilities.
During 2021, the National Audit Office (NAO) held about 77 internal and external training courses in cooperation with local, regional and international organizations, institutions and expert entities, benefitting more than 490 participants.
The NAO conducted 30 internal training courses for 359 participants, whereas 131 participants benefited from 47 external courses and webinars.
Furthermore, the NAO took part in 11 meetings and conferences during last year, which were attended by 41 employees from various directorates.
Human and Financial Resource Director Aysha Adam said that the NAO paid great attention to providing ongoing training and professional qualification courses for its employees in cooperation with international, regional and local expert training institutions in order to strengthen their professional and technical capacities in addition to informing them about the latest developments in the audit field.
She emphasized that all programs and projects complied with the international audit standards, especially for professional certificates, issued by the International Organization for Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).
Ms. Adam indicated that the training plan for the year 2021 had been fully implemented according to its initial program, despite the exceptional circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, as most of the courses were held virtually.
The NAO runs a professional development program via a scholarship system for its staff to obtain one of the internationally accredited professional qualifications in auditing and accounting such as ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), CIA, (Certified Internal Auditor), CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor), and CMA (Certified Management Accountant). So far, 43 employees have benefited from this program, constituting 45% of the audit staff of which 47% are women.
On top of that, the NAO uses a career guidance system as one further means to develop the performance of its new employees and provides on-the-job training to ensure that new employees acquire the necessary expertise and competences and to enhance their communication skills.
As part of the NAO’s constant efforts to review and develop internal policies and regulations related to human resources, a reverse evaluation system has been applied. This enables employees at junior levels to evaluate the performance of employees at senior levels to increase understanding, to identify strengths to be enhanced, and to improve performance so that aspirations and requirements can be met whilst creating a positive work environment.
46% of the NAO’s total workforce are women and 43% of its top management and supervisory positions are occupied by women.
