Upgrade Audit Agency in Service to Protect Public Money – Director General

• The Internal Audit Agency calls for more powers to protect public funds

• Dr Osae believes this decision will also promote the independence and objectivity of internal auditors.

• There is currently a bill before the Ministry of Finance which is under consideration

The chief executive of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has called for powers to be given to its holding, in the form of a service, as part of efforts to protect public funds.

According to him, this decision will ensure that the independence and objectivity of internal auditors will be reinforced by a proposed internal audit service.

In an interaction on the Viewpoint segment of Citi TV monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr Osae explained that a proposed internal audit service will ensure that all internal auditors will work independently.

“When they are dispersed like this, they are subject to different terms of service and the people they are supposed to control are the same who determine their terms of service, so it becomes extremely difficult for them to act,” said Dr. Osae. noted.

“Once this becomes a service, all of these internal auditors will be under the service, so that they can then have the independence and objectivity necessary to protect the government,” said Dr Osae.

He argued, however, that breaches cited in recent audit reports issued by the Auditor General are often reported by internal auditors before the documentation is released, but are unable to take action on their findings.

The director general of the Internal Audit Agency, however, revealed that a bill is currently being studied with the Ministry of Finance for the proposal to create an internal audit service.

The IAA is responsible for overseeing the conduct of audits for public service institutions with the aim of coordinating, facilitating and providing quality assurance for internal audit activities within ministries, departments and agencies. and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.