Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, has disclosed that government initiated processes to restructure the Internal Audit Agency and effectively prevent financial irregularities in the public sector.
The move is part of measures to ensure judicious utilisation of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) US$3billion three-year extended credit facility for the country.
Dr. Oduro Osae made this known at the 9th African Federation of the Institutes of Internal Auditors (AFIIA) Governance Forum.
The IMF’s Executive Board on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 approved a Special Drawing Rights of 2.242 billion equivalent to US$3billion for the country. The decision enabled an immediate disbursement of about US$600million. The rest is expected to be disbursed in tranches every six months, following reviews approved by the IMF Executive Board.
“To this end, government has initiated a process to restructure operations of the Internal Audit Agency to enhance independence, provide adequate resources, strengthen technical capacities and focus on the internal audit function to ensure that there’s prevention of financial irregularities in public institutions.”
Beyond the IMF deal-induced restructuring, the agency has also been working closely with the Institute of Internal Auditors-Ghana – organiser of the AFIIA Governance Forum, and the State Interest Governance Authority (SIGA) to drive change in the public sector.
The collaboration led to plans for developing a ‘Unified Corporate Governance Code’ to guide boards and management of public sector institutions for improved governance.
“Ghana is also repositioning and restructuring the internal audit function to be more responsive to the needs of boards and management; and to this end, is working hard with the Institute of Internal Auditors Ghana to make sure that this happens,” Oduro-Osae added.
As part of the IMF deal, the country commits to implementing an ambitious structural reform agenda to reinvigorate private sector-led growth by improving the business environment, governance and productivity.
Consequently, it has become crucial to review strategies and explore creative initiatives to improve governance, risk and control processes in order to proactively identify, prepare, monitor and mitigate strategic risks as they evolve – so as to create sustainable, competitive advantages that can support businesses’ growth and development.
