SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Wednesday administered the oath of office to Kina Borja Peter, the CNMI’s first female public auditor.
Peter succeeds Mike Pai who had served two six-year terms. No person may serve as public auditor for more than two consecutive full six-year terms.
Peter said she wants to see more women leaders.
“Leadership is a choice and a commitment to constantly make positive changes,” she said. “And leaders must work with their team members so they can be visionaries.”
Appointed by the governor in November 2020, Peter needed the required consent of both houses of Legislature.
She was unanimously confirmed by the House in December 2020 and by the Senate in January.
She said she has been working with her team at the Office of the Public Auditor since January.
“We are reviewing all pending cases/audits and looking at the digitalization of audits,” she added.
Peter said since the Department of Finance has also launched its financial management system project, she has been talking with the project manager regarding digitalization.
“We’re in the process of getting more information from them to give us an idea of which system would be appropriate for our office,” Peter said. “We’re definitely moving forward in terms of assessing the appropriate software system for us to utilize.”
Peter also wants to “enhance” OPA’s website.
The new public auditor graduated from the University of Portland in Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting and is a Washington licensed certified public accountant.
She has over 20 years of accounting experience with Deloitte, and is a former senior finance leader, senior accountant, senior manager, and accounting manager for Boeing Co.
She also managed audit engagements for various public and private companies in the Seattle area as well as for government agencies, trust funds, nonprofit organizations and private companies across Micronesia.
Peter is married to former Rep. Marco Peter and they have two children.
Judge Camacho administers the oath of office to Kina B. Peter, the CNMI’s 1st female public auditor, on Wednesday.
Photo by Bryan Manabat
