New auditor-general to take charge from Feb 2019

Singapore

FROM Feb 8, Singapore will have a new auditor-general, Goh Soon Poh.

The 56-year-old, who is deputy secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Home Affairs Ministry, will take over from Willie Tan Yoke Meng, 63.

A PMO statement on Monday said she will relinquish her current appointments when she takes up the position.

The auditor-general leads the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) in checking the financial accounts and records of government ministries and departments, organs of state and statutory boards. Its findings are published in an annual report, which is publicly available and often draws wide interest.

Ms Goh joined the civil service in 1984, after obtaining an economics degree from Cambridge University on an Overseas Merit Scholarship. She was deputy secretary in various ministries, including Education and Finance as well as the Public Service Division.

Since 2009, she has been deputy secretary in the Home Affairs Ministry, and oversees finance, procurement and internal audit matters as deputy secretary (corporate).

In 2016, she was concurrently appointed deputy secretary (security coordination) at the PMO, where she helps the permanent secretary to oversee the work of the National Security Coordination Secretariat and the Elections Department.

She was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2000 and the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2015.

Her predecessor, Mr Tan, has been the auditor-general for the last six years and in his term, he led the AGO in reshaping and sharpening its audit strategy, enhancing public accountability and strengthening financial governance.

He also introduced the Auditing Service scholarship in 2014 and supported the launch of the PSC Scholarship (Public Finance) last year.

The PMO statement noted that he sharpened the AGO's focus on the quality of audit and clarity in communicating its findings. "Mr Tan introduced a new approach of thematic audits, enabling AGO to carry out more in-depth audits of selected areas and to highlight both lapses and positive learning points," it said.

"He set the tone for AGO to be a more professional and progressive national audit institution, emphasising continuous professional development and high auditing standards.

"He also introduced initiatives to prepare the organisation for the future, including harnessing technology and data analytics."

Mr Tan joined the public service about 45 years ago. He joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1974, after getting an engineering degree on a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Overseas Scholarship.

He served until 1989.

Subsequently, he held various appointments in the public service, including at the Ministry of National Development and Public Service Division.

In 1997, he was appointed the Health Ministry's deputy secretary and two years later, was concurrently named chief executive of the Health Corporation of Singapore, which later became MOH Holdings, the government's holding company for public healthcare assets.

In 2002, he became chief executive of the Central Provident Fund Board, and deputy secretary (administration) of the Defence Ministry in 2005.

He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1994 and the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2010.