By Mavis Offei Agyemang
This year’s Internal Audit Conference has ended with a call on the Government and Parliament to speed up the process of reviewing the Internal Audit Agency Act.
The Director General of the I.A.A. Dr Eric Oduro Osae said after twenty years of work in the country, it is the hope to see a public sector internal public audit being automated just as the accounting, budgeting and external audit functions have been automated.
The closing session was also a time to reward individuals and organizations for supporting the I.A.A and for their hard work.
GBC’s Director General Professor Amin Alhassan was recognized as the Best Head of Covered Entity – SoE’s Category for the 2022/2023 auditing year.
Twenty years of internal audit in Ghana has been a milestone where the function was not separated but performed by the Controller and Accountant General Department with no checks and balances. However, with the establishment of the agency in 2023, it has been able to prevent lots of irregularities within the public sector and developed a core of professionals with a practice framework being implemented.
The Director General of the Internal Audit Agency Dr Eric Oduro Osae called for a well-functioning internal audit agency in the country.
The Board Chair of the Internal Audit Agency Mr. Joseph Winful said internal audits are crucial in a company’s growth as well as in a democracy.
At the closing session of this year’s Conference in Accra, MMDA’s, Individuals and organisation’s were recognized for their hard work in internal auditing within the public sector space.
GBC’s Director General Prof Amin Alhassan was recognized for his timely implementation of audit recommendations and general support to internal audit activities by providing adequate resources, space and logistics to enable it to deliver on its mandate in an objective and independent manner devoid of intimidation.
The Best Internal Auditor for 2022 / 2023 went to Mr. Maxwell Asare-Brewu from the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization.
More categories were introduced in this year’s awards to motivate more people. As a male-dominated profession, more women were encouraged with the institutionalization of the Best Female Internal Auditor across the country and introduced the Integrity Personality of the year which went to Madam Peace Adjetey from the University of Media, Arts and Communication – UNIMAC IL Campus.
This year’s Conference took stock of the activities of the internal audit agency across the country, and exchanged ideas, plus guidance on government policies and operation standards to work better.
It had the theme 20 years of Public Sector Internal Audit Practice in Ghana; Achievements, Challenges and the way forward.
