Pamela Monroe Ellis

CATEGORY: Public Service

Foresight, inclusive leadership and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances are key components in the toolkit of Jamaica’s Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis.

For the last 14 years, she has been at the helm of the department charged with the constitutional mandate of overseeing public expenditure, and describes the journey thus far as rewarding.

Monroe Ellis is this year’s recipient of the RJRGLEANER Honour Award in the category of Public Service, for her relentless leadership of the Auditor General’s Department in 2021, primarily in the context of added challenges and intense public scrutiny.

“To date, I have accomplished substantially the goals that I had in mind when I was first appointed – to move the department from a highly manual environment, which it was in 2008, to one that is substantially automated,” said Monroe Ellis.

That forward planning resulted in all audit staff being equipped with a laptop and the acquisition of an audit software, which enabled the department to seamlessly transition to remote work at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, Monroe Ellis and her team delivered a damning report on the private bonded warehouses and bunkering operations of the Jamaica Customs Agency.

The special audit found violations of laws that resulted in more than $2 billion in financial exposure and more than $500 million in uncollected revenue.

Another audit into Nutrition Products Limited exposed serious breaches of the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act.

The performance audit revealed that the entity paid $143 million to companies and individuals connected to board members and management staff to provide transportation, repairs and maintenance, sanitation and other services.

Then there was the department’s damming Special Audit Report of the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE), which urged the Ministry of Finance to consider surcharge action against two senior officers of the education ministry for the disbursement of $124 million that could not be accounted for, and called for a police investigation.

“We had issues with some entities but that was in the minority. Because we are automated, we already had a system in place where we were getting a number of the documents electronically and at some point in time, officers went in the field to validate the documents,” she explained.

Monroe Ellis shared that at the leadership stage, it was more about soft skills than technical skills, as the aim is to have a highly efficient and motivated staff that can respond readily to the very dynamic environment at the department.

“What I have achieved, I have done so with the support of my team members. I believe in empowering others and I believe in volunteering as a means of self-development,” she said, adding that her involvement locally, regionally and internationally paved the path for developing and honing her leadership skills.

Leading the Auditor General’s Department allows her to contribute to the development of the public sector from a governance and public financial management standpoint.

“It’s not just a job. You can measure your impact when you see the improved performance of entities. When you undertake a performance audit and you can come up with meaningful recommendations emanating from the audit findings that can be game changers for an entity – that is rewarding,” she reasoned.

The Auditor General said over the years, the department has diversified the suite of audit products it offers, moving from assurance audits which include evaluating financial statements to performance audits, information technology audits and special audits.

“The job doesn’t get boring because there is always something new on the horizon and new ways of achieving the same results. We have incorporated technology in our audit mechanism and we also have incorporated different professions. There are now economists on board, we have a former member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and eventually, I want to have a more diversified staff profile,” she said of her vision for the Auditor General’s Department.

INTERESTING FACTS

• Pamela Monroe Ellis became Jamaica’s first female Auditor General in 2008.

• Her career goal as a child was to become a hotel manager.

• Her father prompted her to study accounting.

• Her first job was at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

• Monroe Ellis loves gardening.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS

• The Auditor General’s Department completed its first real-time audit of COVID-19 relief spending.

• It is certified as an ACCA Approved Employer.

• The department completed the automation of audit process.

• It received ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Certification.

• The department engaged at least 20 officers on regional and international working groups.

BUCKET LIST

• Pamela Monroe Ellis wants to make Jamaica a better country through effective audit scrutiny.

• She wants the Auditor General’s Department to become a model public sector organisation.

• To automate the department’s support service unit.

• To develop a highly diversified staff profile.

• For the department to be more responsive to the needs of stakeholders.