‘Amend Internal Audit Agency Act’

THE Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has identified some aspects of its act (Act 658 of 2003), which do not make it possible for the agency to effectively deliver on its mandate in line with international standards.
To enhance professional practice of internal auditing, the Internal Audit Board has, therefore, called for the amendment of the act.
One of the key amendments being proposed by the board is the consolidation of internal audit resources of the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and the metropolitan, municipal and district assembles (MMDAs) under the IAA, with the agency serving as the head of what it termed the Audit Class.
This according to the board, would go a long away to ensure the independence, objectivity and protection of internal auditors.
To begin the amendment procedures, a stakeholders’ workshop was held in Accra on Tuesday to enable participants to discuss the issue and to also come out with suggestions on additional information which in their opinion could help enhance the work of the agency.
The object of the IAA is to co-ordinate, facilitate and provide quality assurance for internal audit activities within the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and the metropolitan, municipal and district assembles (MMDAs).
Addressing the participants, the Board Chairman of the IAA, Nii Adumansa-Baddioo said there were certain grey areas in the law as it presently stood which needed to be changed to enable the agency to effectively deliver on its mandate in line with international standards.
He explained that the proposal for the creation of the internal audit class was recommended through a Needs Assessment Exercise carried out by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IAA) based in Florida, USA with funding from the World Bank.
For his part, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey said if internal auditors were effective and efficient in the performance of their work, resources could be saved for infrastructural development such as schools, hospitals and roads.
“In fact, it is against this background that I strongly believe the Internal Audit Agency should be placed in a better position to deal with issues of recruitment, transfers and general supervision of internal auditors serving with MMDAs”, he stressed.
The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah indicated that good financial management was an integral part of good governance and should be enhanced.
He said that made the work of the IAA critical adding that auditors needed to be independent since a dependent auditor was a contradiction.
Presenting a paper on; “Achievements and Challenges of the IAA under section 3 of Act 658”, the acting Director General of the IAA, Mr Ransford Adjei said the agency did not have oversight responsibility over internal auditors because they were staff of the institutions in which they worked.
He said that made it impossible for the agency to apply sanctions on any auditor who was involved in wrong doing.