The English-Speaking African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E) has awarded the top performance audit report for the second time in a row to the Ghana Audit Service.
The prize was presented to the Audit Service's report, "Fleet Management of the National Ambulance Service," yesterday in Accra during the AFROSAI-E Strategic Review and 19th Governing Board Meeting.
Helena Lindberg, Sweden's Auditor General, who presented the award, said that the winning audit report found issues with conflicts of interest, inefficiency, malfunction, and arbitrary payment usage.
She explained that the audit's goal was to determine if the National Ambulance Service's fleet management policies were viable and offered timely medical assistance when needed.
Please join me in congratulating the Ghana Audit Service for their excellent work and for managing to maintain such a high standard in your work, as you have proven by winning the award now for the second time in a row. "The report has a clear and logical structure, from audit scope and questions to criteria, findings, and recommendations, and is well written," she said.
Independence
Although independence rarely occurs at a top audit institution by accident, Ms. Lindberg reminded the group of auditors from across the continent that independence was the key to completing their responsibilities.
He asserted that, as a result, auditors must excel in their own accountability and transparency to the stakeholders they serve by providing evidence of their motivation.
It can be difficult and even impossible for individual heads of SAIs to succeed in spreading the word about independence on their own, the author noted. "Dedicated leaders are key to driving positive change," she added.
Innovation
According to Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, the Auditor General, the public is getting increasingly interested in audit outcomes, so auditors must act with a high degree of professionalism in carrying out their duties.
"It is crucial that we carry out audit tasks with a high level of professionalism by applying the pertinent auditing standards.
"Managing relationships with auditees in our workplace calls for an even higher level of dedication, objectivity, and diligence," he stated.
According to him, auditors must gather and comprehend data pertinent to the audit in order to make wise suggestions based on the information and conditions that are available.
"Make informed decisions based on the views held by auditees and other audit team members, and be sensitive to the integrity of information, including the source of the information and the appropriateness of its presentation," he said.
Mr. Asiedu continued, "Auditors must exercise professional judgment while being mindful of potential bias and other impediments, and they must withhold judgment until all known and relevant facts have been thoughtfully considered."
"Have the ability and willingness to stand firm on your grounds when faced with pressure to do otherwise," he said.
The Auditor General further stated that auditors must adopt technology to enhance their comprehension of the audit world, particularly about how to handle a crisis and how, as members of AFROSAI-E, they may overcome obstacles by working together as a community.
The COVID-19 situation, he added, "has tested our capacity for adaptation and use of the technological tools at our disposal."
History
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chairman of the Audit Service Board, Prof. Edward Dua Agyeman, stated that the organization's founding statutes and the first governing board of the new organization were adopted at the inaugural meeting of all AFROSAI-E Auditors-General held in Swakopmund, Namibia, in May 2004.
After attempting to decide whether to place the letter "E" before or after AFROSAI followed by (-), he claimed that the organization's name, AFROSAI-E, was universally accepted.
He said that the members ultimately decided to prefix AFROSAI with English-speaking.
"So, in that year, 2004, I was elected the chairman of the Regional Training Committee of AFROSAI-E to replace Mr. A.E. Harid, the then Auditor General of Zimbabwe, who retired that year, and also the chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Regrouping of AFROSAI-E," he stated.
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