Eliminate Discrimination on Hiring and Promoting Auditors!

I have a friend who is interested in applying in the Commission on Audit (COA) and asked me for the procedures and requirements of hiring inside the Commission.  Without a second thought, I immediately gave him the instructions and some orientations on the job because I felt excited because someone is interested in applying to my current job and that he was inspired on what I do. He did exactly what I told him and submitted all the necessary documents such as his resume, diploma, transcript of records and his Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID proving that he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). After two months, I inquired him on the status of his application, and he said that the HR has not yet made a call. I bothered to check on the HR and asked them on the application of my friend and the HR officer told me that it was still pending because he was not a priority because of the recent memo released establishing the standards of hiring auditors for COA. I browsed the COA website and the following guidelines struck me.

Resolution no. 2014-001 dated January 22, 2014 states:

The selection of applicants from the General Pool for pre-employment screening and referral to sectors/offices/regional services shall be in the following order of priority:

a. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs)

•     CPAs with board rating of 81% with at least one year experience and four hours   relevant training shall be considered for State Auditor I;
•      CPAs with board rating below 81% with or without experience and/or relevant training shall be considered for State Auditing Examiner II.

I was surprised that the Commission has transcended its hiring qualifications for auditors and that it is not sufficient that a candidate be a CPA and in addition board ratings will also matter as opposed from previous provisions in which even non-CPAS are allowed to assume auditor positions as long as they acquire civil service eligibility. I also observed that actual procedures go beyond the qualifications and most of the newly hired state auditors have honors associated with their CPA titles. I admired the Commission because it has been able to hire such intelligent individuals and it has been able lift its competency hiring standards above par.  Another recent memorandum that caught my attention was guidelines on the promotion of auditors in preference of promoting only CPAs to audit team leader positions as supported by:  

Memorandum dated February 19, 2014 states that:

Because of the provision of the Accountancy Law that only CPAs may sign  Audit
Certificates, auditor positions are being reserved for CPAs.

However,  as  an exception to the general policy of giving preference to  CPAs  for
promotion to auditor positions, existing Auditors who are non-CPAs may be  promoted  to
staff audit positions in the Offices  of  the Directors/Assistant  Commissioners  and  other
offices where they are not required to sign audit certificates. Such non-CPA auditors may
not be reassigned to operating sector/regional audit teams/units.

This memorandum is in my favor and my fellow CPAs in the Commission but it is also another discriminating and demeaning act for the non-CPAs who are really performing auditors.

The trend of competition inside the Commission in terms of qualifications and educational attainment is ascending. Most of my batchmates are pursuing law because it is a necessity to be knowledgeable on its provisions at government office because of our delicate position of auditing government funds and we are mostly engaged in legal concerns. Thus most of the Directors and Commissioners in COA are CPA-Lawyers. Many auditors are also taking their graduate studies like me or another undergraduate degrees such as in the areas of Information Technology and Engineering. Some are upgrading their titles by becoming Certified Fraud Examiners, and other certifications. COA is supportive on such scholastic endeavors.

Being a CPA, topnotcher, high board rating and an honor graduate do not automatically describe competence and dedication to work. A lot of non-CPAs and normal board passers advance to their careers through hard work and become successful in life. In fact, those titles are additional requirements and not prerequisites and one’s ability could be actually proven on the job itself - the reason for companies to provide for probationary status until one becomes qualified for regularization. Absence of those titles are not limitations, but only an indication of the need to strive more to break the tradition of competence attached to CPAs and high board ratings.

Code of Ethics for Government Auditors

A recent memo from the Commission on Audit has reached our auditing agency that led my Audit Team Leader to return the cellphone previously given to her by our auditing agency.

The memo states:

In the interest of the service and in view of the grant of cellular phone card allowance to ATLs or OIC-A TLs, Sections 3.1.1.c and 3.1.3 under "Support to Audit Groups/Teams" of COA Circular No. 2011-001 dated July 5, 2011 are hereby

amended to read as follows:

XXX

"3.1. 1 .c facilities such as electric power, water, communication (land telephone, telefax, internet connection, messengerial services), security services and janitorial services:"

XXX

"3.1 .3 Auditors shall therefore, be provided with land telephone and/or telefax. Provision of telephone mobile, with or without line, and cell card allowance shall be discontinued or prohibited. In the event that Auditors have been provided with one, the same must be returned."

XXX

This amendment shall take effect immediately.

I came to our auditing agency as part of the Commission on Audit (COA) with a clear mission of independence from my auditing agency and that my audit will not be compromised by the privileges the agency is giving to its auditors.

The active participation of COA in the promotion of good governance has received attacks from the media and government officers because of its numerous disallowances of extravagant and unnecessary government expenditures which involve government officers alleged with corruption cases. The media and these government officers accused COA as part of the corruption in the government and that its auditors are bribed from not auditing government transactions such in the case of the overpriced construction of the Makati parking lot cum office building, the amount of money received by the COA-MWSS, and plunder case the former COA Chairman Reynaldo Villar is facing regarding the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds.

The Preamble of Code of Ethics for Government Auditors provides that:

At the core of the public trust that characterizes public’ office is the command of morality by which the office holders bound to do right. Morality is the very essence of public ethics which is part and parcel of public office.

Section IV- Faithful Adherence to Standard Norms of Public Service further provides that:

It behooves the government auditor, as a public officer, to discharge his functions and duties with the highest degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty, efficiency and independence, always bearing in mind his ultimate accountability to the sovereign people who are his real clients.

It is frustrating to know that there are government auditors who neglected their duties in the course of their service and has impaired their independence due to lack of self-restraint in the face of temptation. They have forgotten their zeal as a public servant and as a protector of public trust and connived with the people they are supposed to audit.

Section XII Administrative and Criminal Sanctions of the code finally states:

Any violation or infraction of the Code which partakes of the nature of an administrative offense under the Civil Service Law shall be a ground for disciplinary action against the erring government auditor in accordance therewith without prejudice to the corresponding criminal action under appropriate penal laws as may be warranted in the premises.

Some of my auditor colleagues in the government received their dismissal from service as proved guilty of bribery and other administrative offenses as stated under the code. Some of them have only experienced temporary separation from their office as long as 6 months.

Perhaps these issues involving the auditors in the committing of fraud, corruption and bribery are the reason behind the memo that had just been released and disseminated to other government agencies to return the cellphones received from our auditing agencies and discontinue any cellphone related allowance is a precaution that as auditors we are not allowed to receive such benefits and allowance that will impair our independence and will preclude us to render our audit and effect disallowances.

The Citizen Participatory Audit

Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA) is a participative audit that involves the citizens of the nation in cooperation with an audit institution in the audit of the government (Pulido Tan, 2013).  In the context of internal auditing, participative audit includes the auditee in the audit process whereby the auditor and auditee collaborate without sacrificing the independence of the auditor.

Public transparency and accountability have been an advocacy among 60 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and civic organizations over the last ten years (Ramkumar, 2007, p.2). To assess the extent of accountability and transparency to the public, the International Budget Project (IBP) conducted a survey among 59 countries in October 2006, whereby it revealed the lack of awareness and involvement of the citizens to the budget and audit practices in their countries. Thus, there is a need to increase the working relationship between the public audit institutions with the civil society (p.2).

In November 2006, a conference entitled ‘Dialogue on Civil Society Engagement in Public Accountability’ was held in Manila co-hosted by the IBP, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) and the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) with the joint participation of representatives from the civil society groups and public institutions including India, South Africa, Philippines, Argentina, South Korea and Mexico (Ramkumar, 2007, p.3). This conference saw the importance of the civil society organizations in building public transparency and accountability and recommended the civil society organizations to work with the audit institutions to detect and report cases of corruption, augment the undertakings of audit, and hasten the implementation of audit recommendations in the government (p.3).

In the Philippines, the Commission on Audit (COA) Chair, Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan has initiated the Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA), in support with a symposium she attended last July 2011 in Vienna with the theme ‘Effective Practices of Cooperation between Supreme Audit Institutions and Citizens to Enhance Public Accountability’ (Tan, 2013). Tan discussed the concept of CPA as the involvement of citizens in the auditing process since COA as an ‘independent constitutional body’ has the exclusive power to audit the government and it is worthwhile to include the citizens as stakeholders to the auditing process itself due to the government’s accountability to its people—the citizens of the Philippines (par. 3,7 & 8).

This government’s action in engaging people in administration that aims to eradicate corruption in the government is consistent with its democratic form. Moreover, it agrees with the ethical principles stated in the Markkula Framework established by Santa Clara University in the US. The Markkula underlying principles are:

1. Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a general term for any view that holds that actions and policies should be evaluated on the basis of the benefits and costs they will impose on society. In any situation, the ‘right” action or policy is the one that will produce the greatest net benefits or the lowest net cost (Velasquez, 2006, p.61). With the application of CPA, it will produce the greatest benefits on the Filipino citizens because they will take part in the evaluations of government projects which funds generally came from them.

2. Rights and Duties

Moral rights or human rights are based on moral norms and principles that specify that all human beings are permitted or empowered to do something or are entitled to have something done for them (p.74). The government has its obligations to its people and it is the right of its people to be active in watching out these obligations which citizens can exercise their right through the CPA.

3. Justice and Fairness

Justice and fairness is concerned with the comparative treatment given to the members of a group when benefits and burdens are distributed (p.85). Allegations of corruption and the use of public funds for personal pursuits are filed against public officers and that the government should give justice because these public funds are from the hard-earned money of its citizens and it will be fair if citizens will become part of the team that will audit these funds.

4.  Virtue

Moral virtue is acquired disposition that is valued as part of the character of a morally good human being and that is exhibited in the person’s habitual behavior (p.110). The government officials will be observant of their behaviors with the existence of CPA enhancing public accountability and transparency.

5.  Due Care

This is an ethic that emphasizes caring for the concrete well-being of those near to us (p.102). Through CPA, the government showed its care to its people and that it values its citizens.

6. Human Dignity and Common Good

According to Catholic Social Teachings, how we organize our society -- in economics and politics, in law and policy -- directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. In this context, CPA movement promotes dignity to Filipino citizens and that it promotes the human development by giving importance for them to take part in managing the country.

The CPA will start its operation through the Citizen’s Desk located under the office of the COA Chairman. Citizens are encourage to report, comment and suggest their ideas and knowledge about government projects in texting and contacting the hotline manned by a COA staff in the Citizen’s Desk (par. 10). The audit team will include two to three ordinary citizens from the locality of the project site and they will be trained to perform low-technical aspects of the audit (par. 18). Tan added that with CPA, citizens will have an increased awareness and knowledge of the government, their ownership of public funds that came from their taxes will be strengthened, they will be part of government decisions, and public service delivery will be improved.

According to Pulido Tan (2014), recent implementation of CPA could be seen based on the pilot audits on the CAMANAVA Flood Control Project, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and Barangay Health Centers, and the Solid Waste Management Project of Quezon City.  CPA is also engaged with the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG), “a non-governmental organization that monitors government projects in the Abra region of the northern Philippines” (COA, 2005).

With the Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA), the government audit manifests its duty on the promotion of good governance through the qualities of transparency and accountability by the involvement of its citizen to whom the government has the ultimate accountability. CPA is worth the endeavor to practice good governance where government officials will be watchful in doing their responsibilities because there is an increase in the assurance that someone will report them in the event of their noncompliance in their duties and in their commission of fraud and corruption.

The CPA can also be viewed as an ethical movement on the part of COA and the government because of its prospect of considering every facet of an ethical act that it is of moral and global standard.

Filipino Family and the State

The Philippine government has its outmost responsibility to protect and nurture the Filipino families as the basic unit of the community and the foundation of the nation. As such, the government has the obligation to carry out such programs that will enhance Filipino families’ lives through their active participation.

Art. 149 of the Family Code states that:

The family, being the foundation of the nation, is a basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects. Consequently, family relations are governed by law and no custom, practice or agreement destructive of the family shall be recognized or given effect.

Recently, the government has been active in creating programs that promote good governance with the participation of its citizens.

The Philippine’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT)

The Pantawid pamilya is the Philippines’ Conditional Cash Transfer program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that finances modest cash grants for children under 18 yrs. of age for their education and health (The World Bank, 2014, par. 12). It also covers maternal benefits for Filipino mothers (par. 12). CCT has been able to cover about 4 million Filipino families or about 40 million people nationwide making it the second largest CCT in the world as of April this year. This CCT has a budget of 62 billion per 2014 National Budget.

Moreover, citizens’ group can extend their help through Family Development Session (FDS) in training CCT beneficiaries, providing feedback on the said program and helping other poverty reduction programs. They could also participate using the online portals made accessible to the public such as the open data of Official gazette by the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) and Budget ng Bayan by the Department of Budget and Management.

Philippine and US P8 Billion Health Project

The Department of Health (DOH) in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched an P8 billion health project that will work on improving maternal and child health, family planning, tuberculosis prevention and control and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment nationwide that will be implemented within a five-year period.

This project is in support of “Kalusugan Pangkalahatan (KP)” – a DOH Universal Healthcare Strategy to attain health-related interventions for the poor (DOH, 2013).

Habitat for Humanity

The local government units and the national agencies provide for the housing needs of Filipino families in partnership with the Habitat for Humanity organization. Amongst the government units involved in this project are the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National Housing Authority (NHA), Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Local Government Units.

KALAHI-CIDSS

The Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan (Linking Arms against Poverty) KALAHI- Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) is a community-driven development project that aims to empower communities through their enhanced participation in community projects that reduce poverty.

Within 6 years, the project aims to cover 25 % of the poorest municipalities in the poorest 42 (out of 79) provinces of the Philippines, equivalent to more than 4,000 villages in 182 municipalities. It strengthens community participation in local governance and develops local capacity to design, implement, and manage development activities. Community grants are used to support the building of low-cost and productive infrastructure such as roads, water systems, clinics, and schools.

Using a competitive process, villagers select projects from an open menu and prioritize them for funding. Good local-resource mobilization is demonstrated by the high contribution of villagers and their local governments. KALAHI-CIDSS has trained thousands of villagers in project planning, technical design, and financial management and procurement, thus building a cadre of future leaders at the local level. Most importantly, the project provides villagers with structured opportunities for accessing information, expressing their opinions, and influencing local governance.

These government projects are proof that the Philippine State gives importance to the Filipino families and that it encourages participation towards the welfare of the Filipino people. I hope that it would reach every Filipino family and they will benefit from these programs for the betterment of our country. I also hope that the funds allotted to these projects will solely be consumed for the attainment of these projects’ mission and will not be shared by corrupt government officials so that the Filipino families will be assured that these government activities are in support with the statutes of the Family Code of the Philippines.

The government cannot function without the Filipino families and it is only righteous for the government to protect and cherish them. Therefore, they should be able to participate on the government projects that will affect them.

Finding balance in life, work and faith

According to Catholic Social Principals at work, work should be viewed as a calling and an opportunity for giving and contemplation. I believe that for me to do that, I should be able to balance life and make use of time at my advantage.

I started my career as a junior auditor in one of the top 5 auditing firms in Makati in 2007. I was so idealistic back then- looking forward to a perfect environment where I can receive a good paycheck to enjoy life and bring happiness to me and my parents. I thought it will be different as compared to what I have experienced during college with sleepless nights and terror professors. I was very hopeful that my first work will be rewarding in a way that it will recognize my efforts. But everything happened terribly in the areas of work, family, finances and leisure.

Work

I usually arrive at this private auditing firm as the earliest because I wanted to start early and make an impression to the company that I hate being late. I also refrain from making breaks such as taking a nap or having unnecessary conversations with my office mates. I only leave my desk whenever I have to eat or go to the washroom because I want to focus on my work to finish deadlines. These work deadlines cause me to be present on the office even on weekends and gained an average of 2 to 3 daily hours of sleep. Sometimes I feel like fainting but my aim of becoming a partner of the firm is stronger than my physical weakness and so I have to stay awake despite the lack of sleep and rest. This work lifestyle was so demanding and unhealthy.

Family and Finances

I received a salary much lower than I expected because it was my first work and my lack of the experiences needed for the salary I dreamt of. My salary back then was so low that it was not enough for my daily expenses especially that I work almost 7 days a week and it was too costly for me to travel from Quezon City to Makati. Therefore I did not have the money to share with my parents to finance some of the household expenses and to support the schooling of my sister. Moreover, I did not have savings.

Leisure and Faith

I did not have time for friends and sometimes, going home because I stayed at the office and do work. My mind was fully occupied with work and I considered sleep as a luxury. Still, I have time for praying though I could not attend mass.  

After my first tax season experience, I got tired of this life that merely revolves around work and decided to resign from this private auditing firm in Makati. I felt the need to recuperate and restore my energy lost due to too much effort I put on work, impressing my boss, and the company that set aside my right to get out of the box for me to exercise my free will.  

Searching for a new job brought me into a non-stock nonprofit Christian organization that serves the poor by lending the household a capital to finance and start their own business. I became part of this organization as a junior accountant in its Head Office in Makati – assigned to monitor and consolidate accounting reports.

Work

I still practice my habit of being early because work here starts at 7AM. My work here was somewhat routinary and quite voluminous because it involved recurring transactions from different branches and year after year the organization is expanding. I got to spend overtimes but with pay especially for preparing month-end reports. I also did clerical works such as filing reports and calling the branches to follow up on certain data and remind them of their deadlines. I got to experience having many bosses here from different departments and do multi-tasking.

Family and Finances

My life in this organization was simple in contrast with my life from my previous work. I and my office mates practiced a simple lifestyle and we usually ate lunch at the carinderia owned by the mother of one of my office mates –cheap but healthy and delicious. I considered my office mates here as part of my family. They are one of my closest friends.

Even though my salary has improved; it was insufficient for me to shoulder some of my parents’ utility bills and give allowances to my sister that pursued her undergraduate schooling. Luckily she was a scholar. But I was able to apportion most of my bonuses to pay my Mom’s debts and have a decent noche buena during Christmas. I was also able to start my savings though a forced deduction from my salary.   

Leisure and Faith

I got opportunities to travel especially in the area of Luzon to visit its branches and conduct seminars to its branch accountants. I got acquainted with the places and restaurants I have never gone before through company team buildings and meetings.

My Christian life has developed because it was part of the organizations’ mission to share and practice the word of God. We have groups conducting a session every week to have a bible study. The organization held mass every Wednesday morning. Prayer was indispensable because the company prayed in the morning and in the evening.

Everything seemed to be perfect, however there’s still something I have been searching for to fully satisfy me on my job. I need to be on my own, to build my own auditing firm so that I could practice freewill and use time at my advantage and have the peace to contemplate. I have to come out of my shell to pursue my heart desires and fulfill God’s promise that He has a plan for me and he wants me to prosper. I am really excited for that moment that I will ultimately be the one who will create work for my fellow Filipinos that will give them numerous opportunities. Today, I am now part of the Supreme Auditor of the Philippines- the Commission on Audit (COA). My work is noble because I am part of a group that promotes transparency and accountability on the government through the audit of government funds. I am able to finance my graduate schooling, somewhat support the financial needs of my parents, and build savings and investments. With COA, I was also able to visit several places both for the company and travel purposes. I had the opportunity to mingle with a lot of people and most of them are known to the society and have their own businesses. It is here where I have a family of co-employees and a network in line with my faith.

As an employee for several years and based on my experiences, it was really difficult to balance life and to be passionate about work because your life somewhat depends on the company you’re working at - its people, its mission and vision and its environment. I believe that to become a self-employed individual is where I can fulfill work as a complete calling, a means of giving and contemplation because it is the time when I could truly do what I am passionate about and expand my opportunities.