A five-day Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) qualification course began in the city on Thursday.

The project has been funded by the European Union's Technical Assistance to Support the Implementation of the PFM Reform Strategic Plan in Bangladesh implemented by DT Global.

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A number of 48 selected officials of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) are being trained in phases to prepare them for appearing in the CISA certification examination.

Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Mr. Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury inaugurated the CISA course as the Chief Guest at the Financial Management Academy (FIMA), Dhaka while the training of the 1st batch of selected OCAG officials also started on the same day.

Counsellor and Team Leader – Education, Human Development and Public Finance Management, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Ms. Jurate Smalskyte Merville attended the event as the special guest while Director General of Financial Management Academy (FIMA) Mr. Abul Kalam Azad was the Session Chair of the event.

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Mr. Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury stressed that CISA can play a vital role in auditing, controlling, monitoring, and assessing an organization’s information technology and business systems.

Mr. Chowdhury expressed his expectation that CISA certification would equip OCAG to effectively conduct audit in the ever-advancing Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) environment, with iBAS++ at the forefront in the public sector in Bangladesh. With the growing importance of technology in today's business landscape, Mr. Chowdhury's remarks shed light on the necessity for professionals to obtain the CISA certification.

Ms. Jurate Smalskyte Merville emphasised on how the globally recognised CISA certification can unlock numerous doors as opportunities for the participants and acquiring the prestigious CISA certification as a means to gain expertise in five technical domains, including Information Systems Auditing Process; Governance and Management of IT; Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation; Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience; and Protection of Information Assets; which are all integral to the field of information systems auditing in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Merville also pointed out that the EU is not only supporting OCAG, but also National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Parliamentary Financial Oversight Committees (FOCs) to strengthen their institutional capacities in implementing strategic reform priorities of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh takes key steps towards enhancing audit capacities and promoting transparency and accountability with the assistance of the EU. The purpose of providing the assistance is to strengthen the institutional capacity of OCAG and improve the systems and procedures in use; so that external audits are gradually carried out as per international standards and auditors are better trained and prepared to carry out their tasks resulting in improved quality and timeliness of external audits.

As part of the ongoing capacity building initiatives, the EU funded TA is assisting OCAG to professionalize its auditors by acquiring the CISA qualification.