The Association of Pacific Island Public Auditors

The Association of Pacific Islands Public Auditors (APIPA) was formed in January 1988 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was executed by the heads of the audit organizations of five Pacific Island nations. APIPA was formed to achieve the following objectives:

• To establish an organized body to act as one voice in support of the goal of promoting efficiency and accountability in the use of public resources of emerging nations of the Pacific;
• To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, experience, problems, and the identification of solutions which are often unique to the Public Auditors in the Pacific;
• Sponsor auditing and accounting training workshops, in cooperation with established associations of the staff of member offices;
• Identify scholarship sources for Pacific Islanders in need of financial assistance to study auditing and accounting at the post secondary level;
• and Promote public awareness for the purposes of conducting audits of public resources.

The founding parties to the 1988 MOU were the Public Auditor of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Public Auditor of the Republic of Palau, the Public Auditor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territorial Auditor of Guam, and the Auditor General of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Department of the Interior's Office of the Inspector General in Guam also became a non-voting member in 1988. Since its inception, APIPA has expanded to include Public Auditors from Pohnpei, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae, Guam, Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The first organizational meeting of APIPA was held in Saipan in March 1988. The first annual conference was held in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands in June 1989. The annual conference, which usually last five days, provides the APIPA members with the required continuing professional education for their audit staff. It has also become an important forum for discussion and interaction among APIPA members and those involved in auditing and government financial management in the region.

For additional information, visit APIPA online at http://apipa.guamopa.org..