It would always be wise for men and women of knowledge and wisdom in a community not to react to the words of the ignorant and the envious lest the entire community goes down to his level.

It is always a joy and honor to be a CoA state auditor. You are able to see the world and broaden and enrich your life and the people you lead and live with!

On 5-7 June 2024, CoA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba presided over the annual meeting of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) working group of public debt (WGPD) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The WGPD’s mandate stems from one of the three-goal committees of the INTOSAI — Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Services. It is tasked to prepare and publish guidelines and other materials for use by Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to encourage the proper reporting and sound management of public debt; identify key issues for the development of responsibilities and procedures for auditing and evaluating public debt commitments; and exchange knowledge with other institutions dealing with public debt issues, among other things.

The 2024 Azerbaijan meet focused on the theme, “Responding to the Global Challenges of Public Debts.” Delegates from 28 member-supreme audit institutions discussed issues such as the capacity gap among auditors in the Audit of Public Debt and Public Debt Management and SAIs challenges in the audit of debt sustainability.

Expert resource persons from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the International Budget Partnership shared their experiences and expertise in the domain of public debt.

Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 meters below sea level, which makes it the lowest-lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. Azerbaijan is on the boundary of Eastern Europe and West Asia.

In short, it is in both Europe and Asia, where the religion is Islam and the language is Turkic, a variant of the Turkish language.

In a report released worldwide on 18 June 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland, the governing body of the International Labour Organization formally accepted and endorsed the comprehensive report to the conference prepared by its external auditor, the Commission on Audit of the Philippines, covering the year ending on 31 December 2023.

Cordoba presented the report.

The report included the consolidated financial statements for the same period, which had been submitted to the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference for deliberation and adoption.

Cordoba was assisted in his presentation by CoA Commissioner Roland Pondoc and Assistant Commissioner Lito Martin.

CoA’s audit experience with the United Nations system spans over 40 years. Since 1984, CoA has been auditing 17 UN offices during its 18-year incumbency as a member of the United Nations Board of Auditors.

Since 2008, CoA became the External Auditor of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations with a 12-year audit mandate and, in 2012, it became the external auditor of the World Health Organization (WHO) for eight years.

Further, CoA began its mandate with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2015 and its two-year mandate with the United Nations Industrial and Development Organization in 2019.

Audits are undertaken twice a year, i.e., interim and year-end audits. The independent auditor and the external auditor reports are presented by the CoA chairperson to the bodies that are charged with the governance of the organization.

These bodies include the ILO governing body, the WHO assembly, and the FAO finance committee that scrutinize, provide questions, and eventually approve and adopt the audit reports.