The Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) commences a three-day Annual Refresher and Technical Update Training for 90 technical staff in Freetown. The training took place at the 12th floor of the Freetown City Council Building from Monday 8th – Wednesday 10th December, 2025.
The Annual Refresher and Technical Update Training is a vital capacity-building initiative designed to keep audit staff knowledgeable, skilled, and aligned with current standards and practices. It strengthens audit quality, promotes consistency and ethical conduct, and ensures that the ASSL continues to deliver credible and value-added audit reports that enhance public accountability, transparency, and trust.
Mr Mohamed Juldeh Barrie, Acting Deputy Auditor General informed the participants that this year’s Annual Refresher and Technical Update Training is to strengthen staff competence in applying materiality by nature in audit opinions and aligning audit work with the new Strategic Plan 2025–2029.
He further noted that the training will also strengthen the professional competence of ASSL staff by addressing key Quality Assurance cross-cutting issues, introducing updates to the ASSL Audit Methodology, and enhancing understanding of the revised International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) requirements. He assured them that the training will further deepen staff knowledge of the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan and their roles in its implementation, while mainly focusing on improving the application of materiality by nature in forming audit opinions in accordance with relevant standards. Mr Barrie also stated that the training will equip staff to identify and respond effectively to emerging issues aligned with the institution’s strategic direction, thereby promoting consistent audit quality, improved methodological application, and effective service delivery across all public institutions.
The Training Manager, Mr Philip Goba informed the participants that the refresher training will strengthen auditors’ capacity, update their knowledge on current standards, closes skill gaps and ensures consistent application of audit methodologies across divisions. He pointed out that this year’s key focus area, which is “Mastering Materiality by Nature: A New Lens for Public Sector Audit in Sierra Leone,” reflects ASSL’s renewed commitment to strengthening audit quality, enhancing professional judgment, and aligning audit practices with evolving INTOSAI standards and national expectations for public accountability.
Mr Philip Goba dilated that materiality by nature, has emerged as a critical concept in public-sector auditing, particularly in identifying issues that may not be quantitatively significant but have profound implications for transparency, governance, legality, and public trust. He stressed that as government programmes expand and the expectations of citizens continue to grow, auditors must be equipped to identify material issues that relate to the nature of transactions—such as breaches of authority, non-compliance, abuse of process, governance failures, and sensitive expenditures—that directly influence the credibility of public institutions.
Mr Goba highlighted that the theme also aligns with the 2025–2029 ASSL Strategic Plan – theory for change, which emphasises improved audit impact for better service delivery, thereby making a difference in the lives of citizens.
By focusing on this theme, the training aims to position ASSL as a leader within AFROSAI-E and the wider INTOSAI community in applying modern public-sector audit concepts that reflect the realities of Sierra Leone’s governance environment. The theme also reinforces the critical role of auditors in safeguarding public resources and ensuring that audit findings meaningfully contribute to accountability, service delivery, and public value.
The training for auditors working in the regions will take place in Bo from Thursday 11th – Saturday 13th December 2025.
The Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) commences a three-day Annual Refresher and Technical Update Training for 90 technical staff in Freetown. The training took place at the 12th floor of the Freetown City Council Building from Monday 8th – Wednesday 10th December, 2025.
The Annual Refresher and Technical Update Training is a vital capacity-building initiative designed to keep audit staff knowledgeable, skilled, and aligned with current standards and practices. It strengthens audit quality, promotes consistency and ethical conduct, and ensures that the ASSL continues to deliver credible and value-added audit reports that enhance public accountability, transparency, and trust.
Mr Mohamed Juldeh Barrie, Acting Deputy Auditor General informed the participants that this year’s Annual Refresher and Technical Update Training is to strengthen staff competence in applying materiality by nature in audit opinions and aligning audit work with the new Strategic Plan 2025–2029.
He further noted that the training will also strengthen the professional competence of ASSL staff by addressing key Quality Assurance cross-cutting issues, introducing updates to the ASSL Audit Methodology, and enhancing understanding of the revised International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) requirements. He assured them that the training will further deepen staff knowledge of the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan and their roles in its implementation, while mainly focusing on improving the application of materiality by nature in forming audit opinions in accordance with relevant standards. Mr Barrie also stated that the training will equip staff to identify and respond effectively to emerging issues aligned with the institution’s strategic direction, thereby promoting consistent audit quality, improved methodological application, and effective service delivery across all public institutions.
The Training Manager, Mr Philip Goba informed the participants that the refresher training will strengthen auditors’ capacity, update their knowledge on current standards, closes skill gaps and ensures consistent application of audit methodologies across divisions. He pointed out that this year’s key focus area, which is “Mastering Materiality by Nature: A New Lens for Public Sector Audit in Sierra Leone,” reflects ASSL’s renewed commitment to strengthening audit quality, enhancing professional judgment, and aligning audit practices with evolving INTOSAI standards and national expectations for public accountability.
Mr Philip Goba dilated that materiality by nature, has emerged as a critical concept in public-sector auditing, particularly in identifying issues that may not be quantitatively significant but have profound implications for transparency, governance, legality, and public trust. He stressed that as government programmes expand and the expectations of citizens continue to grow, auditors must be equipped to identify material issues that relate to the nature of transactions—such as breaches of authority, non-compliance, abuse of process, governance failures, and sensitive expenditures—that directly influence the credibility of public institutions.
Mr Goba highlighted that the theme also aligns with the 2025–2029 ASSL Strategic Plan – theory for change, which emphasises improved audit impact for better service delivery, thereby making a difference in the lives of citizens.
By focusing on this theme, the training aims to position ASSL as a leader within AFROSAI-E and the wider INTOSAI community in applying modern public-sector audit concepts that reflect the realities of Sierra Leone’s governance environment. The theme also reinforces the critical role of auditors in safeguarding public resources and ensuring that audit findings meaningfully contribute to accountability, service delivery, and public value.
The training for auditors working in the regions will take place in Bo from Thursday 11th – Saturday 13th December 2025.
