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Aishath Afna AbdhullaAuditor General’s Office of the Maldives Senior Auditor Gallery
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My FellowshipMy Canadian placement:Office of the Auditor General of Ontario My Canadian audit team:I was part of a team conducting an audit on mental health services in adult correctional institutions, led by Audit Manager Sophie Dai. My most valuable learning:From this Fellowship, I learned the importance of engaging civil society organizations (CSOs) and how their contributions are highly valuable and should not be overlooked. Although CSOs fall under the low power and high interest quadrant of the stakeholder matrix, it’s important to include them at every stage of audit, and they can help us to come up with practical and community-relevant recommendations to conduct impactful audits. How my Canadian colleagues and mentors helped me:My host office colleagues were very welcoming and shared their knowledge and constructive feedback, which helped me improve my work. I worked on the diversity, equity, and inclusivity aspects of the audit, which enabled me to develop a deeper understanding of these concepts and how to apply them effectively in audit practice. What I enjoyed most:The opportunity to attend the CCOLA (Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors) Performance Audit Symposium, where I learned that even different audit offices across Canada use different methodologies and approaches in auditing. It was a valuable knowledge exchange platform to gain insights into diverse practices and perspectives in performance auditing. My audit plan: Institutional response to gender-based violenceI developed my audit plan with the guidance of my mentors at the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, Audit Managers Sophie Dai and Sara Harrison. The connection to my country’s development priorities:In the Maldives, gender-based violence is deeply rooted in cultural norms and patriarchal gender roles, with 1 in 3 women aged 15 to 49 having experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Even with high prevalence rates, CSOs we engaged with and information obtained during pre-study pointed to substantive gaps in the system, institutional constraints, and failures in service delivery to victims, which consequently affected achieving outcomes for victims at each and every stage of service delivery. Additionally, the topic aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on gender equality and focuses on gaps in regulatory frameworks and weak coordination among agencies, which contribute to delayed and insufficient responses to victims. As this area has not previously been audited by SAI Maldives, it presents a valuable opportunity to identify key deficiencies and provide meaningful recommendations for improvement. How CAAF and my host office helped:Knowledge gained from trainings, mentoring and challenge sessions helped me to better understand, develop, and align my audit plan. My mentors took a lot of valuable time in reviewing my work and helped me solidify the audit risks and keep scope manageable. The skills and knowledge I improved by developing this plan:Since this is my first time working on a performance audit plan, I learned the importance of refining the audit scope to avoid scope creep and to keep the audit manageable. This will be valuable for future audit planning. My future impact:The new knowledge I’m most excited to share with my colleagues:I look forward to sharing the knowledge I gained from this Fellowship, particularly on how to incorporate gender equality and an inclusivity lens into future performance audits. The difference I hope to make:Maldives is small island nation where opportunities are often unevenly distributed, especially for women and marginalized groups. I plan to apply the skills I have learned in my future audits by integrating gender equality, an inclusivity lens, and a SDG focus to help ensure that the benefits of public resources reach these vulnerable groups and that no one is left behind. My professional goals:After completing the Fellowship programme, my goal is to apply the audit methodologies I learned through the training and from my host office, and to share this knowledge with my colleagues. |
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My Experience |
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The most Canadian thing I did was…Surviving winter at -35°C and bundling up in layers. My favourite cultural experience in Canada was…Ice skating on the Rideau Canal. |
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