Building Cultures of Accountability: APIPA Holds 36th Annual Conference in Saipan, CNMI September 2025

The Association of Pacific Islands Public Auditors (APIPA) held its 36th annual conference in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, from September 8 to 12, 2025, with the theme “Building Cultures of Accountability.” The event focused on strengthening public financial management and audit capacity across the Pacific.

The conference was hosted by the CNMI Office of the Public Auditor, led by Chairwoman Dora I. Deleon Guerrero, CPA, and brought together more than 300 government accountability professionals from ten island jurisdictions, including the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)—the FSM national government, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Yap—the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, 

Opening remarks were delivered by The Honorable David Apatang, Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Nicki Miller, Assistant Inspector General for Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations, U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General (DOI OIG). Additional featured speakers included Angel A. Demapan, Deputy Assistant Secretary (video) for Insular and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and Eric S. O'Malley, Assistant United States Attorney. The speakers noted that strong institutions, consistent oversight, better collaboration across offices, and timely single audits are all key to promoting good governance and accountability in the Insular Areas.

“We cannot afford to let these challenges become excuses. Our island governments deserve to be seen as strong, credible partners, and that credibility depends on audits that are timely, accurate, and complete. Results must be measurable. Accountability must be embraced, not because Washington demands it, but because our island communities deserve it,” said Angel Demapan, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Insular Affairs. 

The 2025 program featured 18 courses across Plenary, Audit, and Finance tracks, with up to 40 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits available.  Twelve instructors from the Graduate School and DOI-IG led courses on auditing, internal controls, grant oversight, accounting, finance, ethics, investigations, leadership, and emerging issues.

The conference closed with presentations from Esther Lameko-Poutoa of PASAI on audit collaboration and William Hunter of the Northern Marianas College on the application of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

The APIPA 2025 Conference was supported by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs and delivered in partnership with the Graduate School USA’s Pacific and Virgin Islands Training Initiatives (PITI-VITI). For more information about APIPA 2025 https://apipa2025.org/.