The Head of Advisory and Partner at KPMG, Andy Akoto, has said it is important that internal audit (IA) units develop strategic partnerships to support their organisations to succeed.
According to him, a lot of businesses and enterprises springing up fail to succeed after the owners are no more, a problem that he said can be addressed if businesses prioritise the work of auditors.
“If you are talking about sustainable business, then naturally internal audit must be seen as a strategic partner to build multi-generational businesses in the context of Ghanaian enterprises; because what we find is entrepreneurs giving birth to businesses, but once they are no more for whatever reasons those businesses fail to thrive after them.
“Internal audits can help deal with these kinds of situations because they will examine all matters of governance, sustainability, succession-planning and talent acquisition, and bring an objective and independent view on how to continue and enhance the business,” he said.
Mr. Akoto spoke in Accra at the climax of an Internal Audit Awareness Month by KPMG under the theme ‘Revitalising the role of internal audit for sustainable business growth’, which is marked in the month of May. He noted that professional audits can also add effective controls and ensure that everyone is accountable for being part of the enterprise.
This was the second time KPMG observed the month, as part of efforts to encourage individuals and institutions around the globe to celebrate and promote awareness of the profession to stakeholders.
He said internal auditing is important in strengthening corporate governance and safeguarding stakeholders’ interests in the public and private sectors. Also, it helps enhance the management of risks organisations face, and ensures policies and procedures are not only in place but also working effectively.
Deputy Managing Director at Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Emmanuel Odartey Lamptey, speaking at the event stressed the need for internal auditors to pay critical attention to identifying risk around businesses and act timeously.
“Typically, you do find that in many institutions traditional risk areas like market risk, credit risk and operational risk tend to get a lot of focus; but strategic risk – which is around the long-term sustainability of the business or existence of the business – tends to be pushed back, and this is where I think internal auditors with their expertise are able to connect the dots across many aspects of the institution,” he noted.
The event also saw some staff rewarded as a result of their contribution to the month-long awareness promotion in May.
