The government has appointed a new governing board for the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) and plans to revise the law governing the institution as part of broader efforts to strengthen public financial management and curb losses from weak oversight in state institutions.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson inaugurated the nine-member board and charged it with spearheading reforms aimed at improving accountability, reducing audit infractions and enhancing risk management across the public sector.
Finance Minister Unveils Audit Agency Reforms to Curb Public Sector Losses
The board’s mandate includes reviewing the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003, and developing strategies to strengthen the agency’s capacity to enforce compliance and improve internal controls within government entities.
“We must turn the Internal Audit Agency around and restore it to the purpose for which it was established,” Dr. Forson said at the inauguration ceremony.
The move comes as Ghana seeks to reinforce fiscal discipline and improve governance of public resources amid ongoing efforts to rebuild confidence in the country’s public finance management system.
Dr. Forson said recurring irregularities highlighted in reports by the Auditor-General point to weaknesses in accountability mechanisms, including shortcomings in the internal audit function. He urged the board to ensure internal auditors are held accountable for lapses in their duties, including through sanctions and the possible revocation of professional licenses where warranted.
“The level of waste is too high, and the Ghanaian taxpayer is losing too much. We need to find a way to fix it,” he said.
The finance minister also announced plans to establish what he described as an “Auditors’ Court” to strengthen supervision of internal auditors and increase public scrutiny of the profession.
According to Dr. Forson, the government will support efforts to reposition and strengthen the Internal Audit Agency, with the objective of making it more independent and effective in safeguarding public funds.
He also called on the agency to expand professional development programmes for its staff to improve technical competence and strengthen the effectiveness of internal audit operations across government institutions.
“Your success must be reflected in the Auditor-General’s report,” Forson told board members.
Responding on behalf of the board, Chairperson Professor Joshua Yindenaba Abor said members would work to advance accountability and ensure value for money in the management of public resources.
Abor, a finance professor and qualified accountant, described the appointment as a “noble call to duty” and pledged that the board would support reforms aimed at strengthening the agency’s mandate and effectiveness.
Finance Minister Unveils Audit Agency Reforms to Curb Public Sector Losses
The governing board comprises representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, the Internal Audit Agency and private sector professionals with expertise in finance, accountancy, human resources and pension administration.
Other members include Benjamin Adjetey Sowah, Director of the Budget Division at the Ministry of Finance; Divine Yao Ayidzoe, Director at the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs; Irene Stella Agyenim-Boateng, a human resource practitioner; Thomas Ashaley Thompson-Aryee, Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency; Daniel Ofosu; Isaac Nyame, Managing Director of Ikern Associates Limited and Ikern Chartered Accountancy; Kwesi Esso Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Pension Trustees; and Godfred Ashiagbor.
-thehighstreetjournal.com-