Accra-Ghana, May 22, GNA – Ghana is restructuring and repositioning the Internal Audit function to make it more responsive to the needs of the Boards and Management of Public Sector Institutions.
Dr Eric Oduro Osae, Director-General, Internal Audit Agency (IAA), said the Government had initiated a process to restructure the operations of the Agency to enhance independence, provide adequate resources, strengthen technical capacity and focus on the Internal Audit function to ensure the prevention of financial irregularities in public institutions.
He said the restructuring also included professionalization of the Internal Audit function in the public sector and that required a good partnership between IAA and the Institute of Internal Auditors.
The Director-General made this known on Monday in his address at the opening of the Ninth Governance Forum of African Federation of the Institutes of Internal Auditors (AFIIA) in Accra.
The Ninth AFIIA Governance Forum on the theme: “Innovate to Sustain” is closely related to the main Conference’s theme of “Sustainability Through Innovation.”
Dr Osae said given the theme, the forum promises to be a rare opportunity for sharing knowledge, insights and best practices in all the organisational processes.
He said the forum was an opportunity for benchmarking and collaboration with fellow professionals.
He said the Institute of Internal Auditors Ghana, the Internal Audit Agency and the State Interests and Governance Authority, had been collaborating to drive change in the public sector of Ghana; adding that it was yielding positive impacts.
“We believe other countries can replicate this collaborative approach and we are willing to share our experiences,” Dr Osae said.
“Specifically, we are developing a unified Corporate Governance Code to guide Boards and Management of Public Sector Institutions for improved Governance.”
He said recently, Ghana had signed onto the International Monetary Fund Programme and that the country had committed to implement a few post-COVID-19 Programme of Economic Growth (PC-PEG) aims at restructuring Macro-Economic Stability and wide-ranging reforms to build resilience and lay the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth.
He said Ghana’s strategy was to embark on an ambitious structural reform agenda aimed at reinvigorating Private Sector-led growth by improving the business environment, governance and productivity.
Dr Osae said the issue of new Audit Committee Guidelines in 2023 to govern operations of Audit Committees and Management showed Ghana’s commitment to improve governance in public institutions for efficiency and value for money in public spending.
“Since this forum targets participants with governance responsibilities, I advise board members and management to involve their internal auditors and Audit Committees at all levels of managerial decision making to enable them offer the best assurance and advisory services.
“That way, we can create sustainable competitive advantages that can support business growth and development.
“Weak institutional structures and systems have the potential of derailing gains and success made through innovation.”
He advised the boards, management and internal auditors and accountants to mainstream Enterprise Risk Management in their operations and identify risks associated with innovations and to collaborate with key stakeholders to effectively manage the risks for sustainable growth and development.
He said the development of Africa, and the role of all professionals, particularly internal auditors, in promoting good governance could not be overstated.
He reiterated that African problems could only be solved by Africans; saying “so let us collaborate to develop common solutions to our common problems”.
He urged participants to commit to supporting processes that help their organisations to create greater value through innovation.
“Together, let us build a stronger, more agile, and more resilient organisations that are better equipped to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow,” Dr Osae said.
