Supporting the Works of PACs - Strategies for Success

1. Supporting The Works of Public Accounts
Committees – Strategies for Success
Deji Olaore
World Bank Institute (WBI)

2. Parliamentary Committees Meetings
 Committees are a Parliamentary or Legislative body’s most
important institutional mechanism
 The most important and greatest legislative business are
conducted at the committee level
 The greater the strength of its committee system, the greater
the capacity of the Parliament to be an effective initiator of
public policy
 Committee is the engine room of a Legislative institution.

3. PAC Business Processes
Work Plan
After Meetings
Preparation for Meetings
Conduct of Meetings

4. Work Plan
 During this stage the Chair, Members and Secretariat work to
identify the priority of the Committee
 Once the priority areas for the next year have been identified,
an outline calendar is developed
 Secretariat allocates specific activities to months but not yet to
specific meetings
 Committee Calendar is shared among members and staff

5. Preparation for meetings
 For each agreed meeting/inquiry the Secretariat carries out
specific set of activities, which broadly involve liaising with
specialist advisors, such as the SAI/AG, to identify witnesses
and evidence
 Assigning these meetings to specific days
 For every meeting the Secretariat will prepare a Notice of
Meeting and a Briefing Note

6. Conducts of Meetings
 The purpose of the processes at this stage is to ensure that
individual meetings are well organized, allow for effective
questioning of witnesses.
 Ensures that the Committee holds useful deliberations.
 Begin each meeting with a private business session to agree
the line of questioning and proceedings
 Restrict the number of witnesses at the table to no more than
five
 End each hearing with a private business session to deliberate
on the evidence and decide recommendations and follow-up
actions required

7. After Meetings
 The key purpose of these processes is to capture the findings
and recommendations of the Committee and to monitor the
implementation of the recommendations.
 After each meeting a Record of Deliberation/Decision is
produced
 In order to assess the impact of the Committee’s work it is
essential to monitor the acceptance and implementation of
their recommendations.

8. Key Documents
 Calendar
 Meeting Notice
 Meeting Agenda
 Briefing Note
 Minute of Proceedings
 Inquiry Report
 Follow-up Reports

9. Meeting Note and Meeting Agenda
1. Meeting Notice
 Provides notice of meeting and date for submission of
business proposals or evidence
2. Meeting Agenda
 Lists all business to be conducted Resolutions must appear on
the Agenda
 For evidence sessions:
 It provides basic administrative details indicates Evidence in
Chief to be considered
 Identifies witnesses and gives timeline for each

10. Briefing Note and Minutes of Proceedings
3. Briefing Note
 For all Committee Members
 Summary of Evidence in Chief
 Identifies key issues
 Suggests possible lines of questioning
4. Minute of Proceedings
 Formal record of attendance and business conducted
 Resolutions must appear in full
 Votes recorded if held
 This is NOT a transcript

11. Inquiry and Follow-up Reports
5. Inquiry report
 Summary of issues raised during Committee sittings
 Record of any findings/Recommendations
6. Follow-up reports
 Response of Ministry/Agency to inquiry report
 Not just what Committee says should happen but what actually
does happen

12. Final Thoughts on Success Factors
 Clarity on the Committee’s roles and responsibilities
 An effective PAC meets frequently and regularly
 Effective PAC develops a work plan that sets
Committee’s priority areas
 Set priorities and select important matters to examine
 Clerk prepares meeting’s agenda and summary reports to
be considered
 Circulate the summary report to Members ahead of the
meeting
 Prepare committee reports/recommendations
 Follow up on Committee Reports
 Develop capacity within the PAC Secretariat

13. Thank You
oolaore@worldbank.org
World Bank Institute (WBI)