President John Mahama has called for a stronger and more effective internal audit system across public institutions.
He made the call at the opening of the Annual Conference of the African Association of Accountants General.
He explained that Ghana has two key audit bodies: the Internal Audit Agency and the Auditor General’s Department.
According to him, the Auditor General steps in at the end of every year to audit state institutions and often uncovers cases of misused funds, wrongful procurement processes and other financial breaches.
President Mahama questioned why these problems continue to appear every year despite the presence of internal auditors in every government department.
He asked how internal audits fail to detect these issues early enough before they end up on the Auditor General’s list of irregularities.
He noted that it is important for the country to take a closer look at how internal audit units operate and find ways to strengthen them.
He stressed that improving internal audits will help prevent the yearly cycle of financial mismanagement reports that damage public trust.
President Mahama encouraged public institutions to work together to build a more reliable system that identifies risks early and promotes accountability throughout the year.
By: Jacob Aggrey
