Responding to Auditor-General, PAC and MACC Inquiries
When an Auditor-General's report raises a finding, the Public Accounts Committee calls officers to explain, or the MACC opens an investigation, organisations discover very quickly whether their records tell a coherent story. Missing approvals, thin board minutes and decisions nobody can reconstruct turn a governance weakness into a public finding and, sometimes, into personal liability for the people involved. Statutory bodies, public universities, GLCs and companies that deal with government are all exposed.
This one-day course is for chief executives, company secretaries, finance heads, internal audit, legal and integrity officers. It explains how each process works, what each body is looking for, how to prepare records and people, how to write management responses that are accurate and credible, and how to fix the underlying problems so the same finding does not return. It is not legal advice for a specific investigation: anyone already under investigation should take legal advice. The evidence side is covered in more depth in Section 17A Adequate Procedures: Evidence and Defence.
HRD Corp SBL-Khas Claimable
Programme Agenda
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Welcome and Programme Overview
Introduction to the session, objectives, and housekeeping.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Three Kinds of Scrutiny
The Auditor-General's audits and reports, the Public Accounts Committee's role in examining them, and MACC investigations, how each is triggered, and how one can lead to the next.
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Break
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Records That Tell the Story
Board and committee minutes, approval trails, contracts, payment records and correspondence, preservation and retrieval, and filling gaps honestly rather than creating records after the event.
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Management Responses to Audit Findings
Accepting, qualifying or disputing a finding with evidence, root causes rather than symptoms, corrective action plans with owners and dates, and tracking them to closure.
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
Appearing Before the Public Accounts Committee
How proceedings work, preparing officers, briefing packs, answering accurately and consistently, and following up on the committee's recommendations.
2:20 PM - 3:15 PM
When the MACC Investigates
What an investigation involves, requests for documents and statements, the organisation's and individuals' positions, the need for legal advice, Section 17A exposure for commercial entities, and communications.
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Break
3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
Workshop: From Finding to Remediation
Teams take a case audit finding on an unapproved investment, write the management response, prepare an officer for a PAC hearing, and build the remediation plan.
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Wrap-Up and Q&A
Key takeaways, next steps, and close.
Key Outcomes
- Explain how Auditor-General audits, PAC proceedings and MACC investigations work and connect
- Keep and retrieve records that show decisions were properly made
- Write accurate, evidenced management responses to audit findings
- Prepare officers to appear before the Public Accounts Committee
- Respond to a MACC investigation appropriately, with legal advice
- Turn findings into remediation that prevents recurrence
Training Mode Physical / Online / Hybrid / e-learning
HRD Corp SBL-Khas Claimable
Level Foundation. For chief executives, company secretaries, finance heads, internal audit, legal and integrity officers at statutory bodies, public universities, GLCs and government suppliers.
Duration 1 Day (8 Hours) | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Venue In-house at the client's premises, or delivered via the client's preferred platform (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or equivalent)
Assessment A management response, officer briefing and remediation plan for a case finding, plus a written knowledge check
Certificate Certificate of Completion issued to all participants upon full attendance