News in brief

International Journal of Government Auditing, Jul 2000

Argentina

New Auditor General

Dr. Rodolfo Carlos Barry was appointed to be President of Argentina's Office of the Auditor General on December 13, 1999. During the course of his career, Dr. Barry has held many different government and academic positions. Until his recent appointment, he had been professor of administrative law at the Argentine Catholic University Law School since 1985.

Dr. Barry graduated from the University of Buenos Aires with a master's degree in Administrative Law and from the Argentine Catholic University with a law degree and a doctorate in legal sciences. In 1989, Dr. Barry served as Secretary of Public Works and Secretary of the Interior Ministry. He was a Supreme Court Judge from 1990 to 1993 and was also Acting President of the Supreme Court. In 1993 and 1994, he served on the Board of Directors of the National Public Administration Institute and in 1994 was a Constitutional Assembly delegate representing the Province of Buenos Aires. He was Minister of Justice from 1994 until 1996. Dr. Barry is also a former human rights advisor and was the president of the national entity regulating the Argentine airport management system in 1998. He is a former member of the Argentine national jury court.

In addition to his broad experience within Argentina, Dr. Barra has lectured abroad and been a guest professor in Europe and the United States. He is the author of ten books on administrative law and over 100 magazine articles.

For additional information, contact Auditoria de la Nacion, Hipolito Yrigoyen 1236 - C.P. 1086, Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Republica Argentina.

India

Training Programs Draw Participants From 30 Countries

Sixty-eight people from 30 countries have attended the three international training programs India's supreme audit organization conducted between September 1999 and February 2000. The 6-week programs covered auditing public enterprise, infrastructure and auditing, and auditing rural development programs.

The programs incorporated the successful use of lectures, group discussions, and case studies. Participants submitted and presented country papers describing relevant audit practices and experiences in their SAls. The courses included study tours that allowed participants to have a practical dimension to the training.

Training in Nepal

Katmandu is the setting this summer for the last of three annual joint IndiaNepal training programs. At the request of Nepal's auditor general, the SAIs of India and Nepal have collaborated to conduct these 4-week programs for the Nepalese staff on auditing public works, auditing central accounts, and revenue auditing. Feedback from participants and from structured evaluation forms has been positive.

German SAI Leader Visits

When Ms. Hedda von Wedel, president of Germany's Federal Court of Audit, visited India last November, she and her delegation had extensive discussions with Indian officials on matters of mutual interest, with a view toward further cooperation in the field of public auditing. Indian auditors presented material on performance audits, financial audits, and training. The German delegation also met with the heads of the audit offices of the provinces of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. While in Rajasthan, the group visited the Regional Training Institute there.

For more information, contact Comptroller and Auditor General of India, 10, Bahadur Shah War Marg, New Delhi 110002, India.

Lithuania

On April 5, 2000, the Office of State Control of the Republic of Lithuania celebrated the 10th anniversary of its restoration. The Office is Lithuania's supreme audit institution, and its main responsibilities are established in the Constitution of Lithuanian Republic. It is charged with overseeing the legality of the state's use of public property and finances.

The Office of State Control was established in 1919 and functioned until 1940, when the Soviet occupation suspended its activities for halfa century. Because of this long interval and Lithuania's changed circumstances, the newly restored institution was forced to start most of its work over again from the beginning. Throughout the 1990s, the Office overcame many challenges and today is successfully carrying out its assigned functions. In 1993, it was admitted into full membership with EUROSAI. Since that time, the Office has received active support from its foreign partners. Lithuanian officials have, in turn, participated in the activities of the INTOSAI Working Group on Privatization Audits and INTOSAI's committees on Internal Control Standards and Public Debt.

Since the Law on State Control was adopted in 1995, the Office's organizational structure, methods, and activities have continued to be modernized and updated. The legal basis of the office has also been strengthened. These processes accelerated after 1998 when the legal basis of this highest audit institution underwent rapid changes in order to resolve practical problems related to supplementing legal acts that strengthened the control of state assets and funds and increased public officials' responsibilities. Mr. Jonas Liaucius was appointed Controller General in October 1999 and established clear goals for the Office to become a solid and reliable supreme audit institution. Today, the Office has 286 employees, 220 of whom are auditors and jurists. In 1999, the Office returned over 9 Lithuanian Litas to the state in cash or other assets for every Lita allotted to it.