State Audit | Audit Journey | Work Life
The Crucial Role of Exit Conferences in State Audit: Why It Matters
A Narration of my Audit Peak Season Journey
You have a number of auditor friends posting photos of their recently ended exit conference captioned “1/3”, “2/3”,“3/3” or “4/4” and there is that beam of relief painted all over their faces. If you ever wondered why, Two things- first, its not that tricky or brainy for the figures only represent the number of agencies they have and the numbers of exit they had conducted and second and the most important one, these auditors can finally get a good night sleep. What then is this Exit Conference?
Being in a long-distance relationship with my husband, seeing each other has to be something that is planned carefully, come to think of the expenses and the bulk of work we both have from my Audit activities and my husband in his business. Normally, we get to meet in April so my husband can still have ample time to prepare for his business contingencies, attend my birthday and most of all assist me during travels needed in Exit conferences. It was lucky of me also to have our exit normally conducted in April so it becomes an ALL-IN-ONE Month. However just this year, exit conferences had to be moved earlier to March. Just when my husband knew about this, he immediately decided to book a ticket on an earlier date just to be with me in this peak audit season.
Why go to such lengths to assist me? Is it that important?
I was just so blessed by how considerate, supportive, and understanding my Man is because Yes! One of the very highlights when it comes to auditing government agencies is the so-called Exit conferences. Before publishing finished products of Audit such as Annual Audit Reports, Teams dispersed on respective assignments has to see to it that they have conducted exit conferences per assigned agency.
But before these conferences are also done, there are normally several wrap-up activities that are yet to be accomplished. In my case I had added hurdles considering the travel time, my date of classes, security whenever I needed to stay in my considerably far-flung agencies and most of all this year its peak season coincided with our Mid Terms in Law School. (My salute to all working students!)
What is an Exit Conference?
This is the culminating activity in our engagement where the Audit Team communicates the results of findings to our respective agencies. Attendees of the Exit include the Agency head such as the Presidents, General Managers, or Mayors along with the concerned officials of the different Departments.
This is an avenue where Management is informed of all the various observations noted from its Financial Statements, Current Year Findings to updates of Prior Year Recommendations.
In several cases, when Management and the Audit Team do not have this harmonious working relationship, exit conferences become a toxic venue of arguments and endless debates.
Why is it Important?
All findings are discussed during the Exit Conference in such a way that Management is given the opportunity to clarify matters, present their justifications, and assure commitment to addressing deficiencies and improvement of operations. Part of the discussions on the exit conference is included in every observation of the Annual Audit Report for a balanced reporting.
The conference matters apart from being recorded in the Minutes of the Exit are embodied in the Audit Reports that the Public can freely access on the Commission on Audit Website. A concerned citizen can simply click the “Audit Report Tab”, the Agency Classification, whether it’s a Local Government Agency (such as Cities and Municipalities), National Government Agencies (such as DPWH, DBM, BIR), or Corporate Government Agencies (Such as Government Banks) and click the particular year they want to access to. The Calendar Year ended 2022 Audit Reports are normally available on the Website around June to July 2023.
Exit conferences are also akin to really preparing seminars or symposiums in a way that we have to prepare basically every bit of stuff, from the food, sounds, and venue to even seat arrangement as well as table name cards (Blessed to have proactive staff too). If you could already picture it out, the peak season has my mind shifting from Audit mode-finishing write-ups of observations to Administrative functions-preparations.
March to April was a bit overwhelming but having someone dependable with you makes it a lot easier. My husband to the extent prepares our food, and my things, and even drives for me. His patience was beyond commendable and I can’t thank the Lord enough. So, when you know someone, whose work is particularly in Audit you might want to give them a tap on the back or send comforting messages. Peak seasons are honestly bombarded with phases of mental struggle and exhaustion. Nevertheless, rough times lead you to discover more about your partner and more importantly yourself in handling every adversity.
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