On Thursday, December 17, 2020, in a Handover Ceremony, the Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) was presented with its Certificate of Conformity declaring its compliance and official certification with the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) Honorable Audley Shaw, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Mr. Julian Robertson; ISO Standards Ambassador, Mr. Reginald Budhan. On hand to receive the certificate was Auditor General, Mrs. Pamela Monroe Ellis who was accompanied by members of the Department. Also in attendance were Mrs. Navenia Wellington Ford and Ms. Nikeisha Russell representing the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ) and the World Bank respectively, as well as Commander Michael Rodriguez and other representatives from the MIIC.

The AuGD’s journey to attain ISO 9001:2015 certification commenced in September 2018 and concluded in November 2020 following the completion of the second stage audit. Quality management has been an ethos of the AuGD’s operations and as such the endeavour was fully embraced throughout the organisation. A dedicated team was established to spearhead the implementation and they ensured that all procedures and services executed and offered by the Department were aligned to not only the newly minted quality policy, but also to the Department’s strategic and operational plans. These efforts were expertly guided by the two MIIC consultants who worked with the Department – namely, Dr. Nsombi Jaja who conducted the initial gap assessment, and Commander Michael Rodriguez who assisted with the implementation and adoption of the standard. The Department’s conformity with the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System spans its core audit services, Corporate Services Division, Quality Assurance Unit, and Internal Audit.

The AuGD was commended for the implementation and streamlining of its processes in accordance with the ISO 9001:2015 quality standards, this, as GoJ move to have all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) certified. This also underscored the intention of MIIC to have more entities certified – to strengthen quality management/culture within government entities allowing for greater compliance and having less adverse findings in the reports of “watch-dog” entities. Mrs. Pamela Monroe Ellis, Auditor General, reiterated this view as she thanked the Ministry’s team, the AuGD team as well as the support provided by the IDB and the World Bank – “It is my view that the ISO 9001:2015 quality standard enhances your governance structure to ensure that all resources are engaged meaningfully and efficiently and enable the effective fulfilment of strategic plans and execution of mandates”, said Monroe Ellis. ISO 9001:2015 is an internationally recognised and utlilised Quality Management System that encourages continual improvement of a company’s products and services with intent of meeting both regulatory requirements and customer satisfaction.