Internal auditors of public institutions are encouraged to carry out their responsibilities without regard to politics, according to Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA).
He said that internal auditors who were swayed by political factors in the course of carrying out their duties lost their professional objectivity and were more likely to provide their organizations with subpar advice.
Dr. Osae stated that internal auditors were expected to be technically proficient and to guarantee that the correct thing was done during a training event for internal auditors last Tuesday in Accra.
"Regardless of the political hue, internal auditors are expected to outlive all administrations and inform them of the reality of what has to be done."
We serve as the local residents' eyes and ears. Therefore, he said, "internal auditors must behave professionally, remain politically apolitical, and provide advice within the meaning of the Public Financial Management Act."
Training
In order to help internal auditors and members of audit committees of metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) improve their professional development and better understand how current issues in public financial management and the internal auditing system affect their work, the IAA and the German Development Agency (GIZ) jointly organized a training program.
Participants were supposed to learn about the financial management systems and structures used by local governments in the nation, as well as about current public policy concerns, internal auditing, the legal and regulatory framework for audit committees, the scheduling of audit committee meetings, and the production of audit committee reports.
Dr. Osae stated that the IAA's mandate included a regular training program, and in collaboration with the GIZ, the IAA had created a training manual to ensure the efficient execution of that mandate.
auditors within
Despite doing different work than external auditors, internal auditors occasionally act like them, according to Dr. Osae.
He stated that internal auditors were expected to offer advice and assurance services to public entities in order to close gaps.
"Internal auditing is not a duty of law enforcement or witch-hunting." Normally, it shouldn't be the case when a system has an internal auditor and there are control flaws and inconsistencies, which external auditors then find out about.
In the Auditor-General's report, irregularities were reduced with the aid of internal auditors, who were recognized for their efforts.
"Your combined efforts have resulted in a reduction of the irregularities reported by the Auditor-General on the 2021 accounts in the utilization and management of the District Assemblies Common Fund by 14.4% over that of 2020, while that of ministries, departments, and agencies decreased by 47.3%," he said.
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