Association of Pacific Island Public Auditors Successfully Completes 35th Annual Conference Over 400 Attendees Focus on Bridging the Gap of Public Accountability and Transparency

The 35th Annual Association of Pacific Islands Public Auditors (APIPA) Conference, themed "Bridging the Gap of Public Accountability and Transparency," successfully concluded in Koror, Palau, on August 30, 2024. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs through a contract with the Graduate School USA, the Palau Office of the National Public Auditor hosted five days of informative training sessions where 440 attendees participated in 21 courses covering finance, audit, and grants management and were collectively awarded 2,900 certificates and 18,000 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) units.

APIPA 2024 opened with a warm welcome from the President of Palau Surangel S. Whipps, Jr., who greeted participants representing American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), the Republic of Palau, Samoa, and the United States. In his welcoming remarks, President Whipps expressed his gratitude for public servants who support accountability in the region, and ensuring transparent governments that are ultimately accountable to the people and acknowledged the APIPA as “an investment to ensure that our people are better equipped to do the important work they have to do.”

Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor, welcomed the participants through a video message, highlighting APIPA focus on government accountability and transparency, which are concepts central to the Office of Insular Affairs' mission.

Chair of the 35th APIPA Conference and Palau's Public Auditor Saturnino Tewid, shared a brief history of APIPA which was first founded in 1989 at a meeting in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands. He emphasized the importance of Insular Area governments completing timely Single Audits despite balancing shortages in human resources. Chairman Tewid cited the Performeter ) as a critical tool that helped improve understanding and awareness of financial statements and financial performance, inspiring better understanding and desire to improve accountability and financial governance.

The conference also featured a keynote address by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) Acting Chief of Staff Kathleen R. Sedney, titled "Unlocking the Power of Strategic Oversight: A Roadmap to Success." This year, a team of OIG special agents provided an inaugural track of training in the basics of investigation and fraud detection, which complemented the suite of sessions and workshops focused on strategic oversight, grant management, auditing techniques, ethical decision-making, understanding Single Audits, and more. APIPA 2024 closed with a panel discussion featuring APIPA Member Offices, who provided real examples and practical tools their offices used to strengthen public accountability and governance in their islands. For more from APIPA 2024 visit: APIPA2024.org

The 2025 APIPA Conference will be hosted in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), continuing the tradition of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among Pacific Island public auditors and finance government officials.

The APIPA Conference was made possible through funding from the Office of Insular Affairs Technical Assistance Program and was delivered by the Graduate School USA’s Pacific and Virgin Islands Training Initiatives (www.pitiviti.org). For additional information on APIPA visit Website, Facebook, Flickr.

 The Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. OIA also administers discretionary grants to all the Insular Area