Effective auditing needs suitably trained professionals. Providing qualified officials from IMO Member States with the necessary auditing knowledge and skills to achieve effective implementation of applicable IMO instruments is the focus of a regional training course being held for auditors from the Latin America region (20-24 November). The course is taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under IMO's Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), and is part of the Organization’s ongoing work to ensure its regulatory framework is universally adopted and implemented.
The training is designed to improve countries’ capabilities by developing officers’ auditing skills using the IMO Instruments Implementation (III) Code as the audit standard. The course is conducted in Spanish using a combination of PowerPoint presentations, desk workshops, role play exercises, and quizzes.
The course is being attended by 21 senior officials from 18 Member States’ maritime administrations who are, or will be, involved in preparing their countries for auditing, and who may be nominated as potential auditors under IMSAS. Course delegates are from the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. It has been organized jointly by IMO and Brazil, as the hosting country.
Under the IMSAS Framework and Procedures, all IMO Member States are required to undergo a mandatory audit within a seven-year audit cycle, with an expectation that up to 25 Member States will be audited each year. Since January 2016, when the mandatory phase of the Scheme was introduced, 118 mandatory audits have been conducted.