Ho, Aug. 12, GNA - Mr Emmanuel Simpson, the Volta Regional Auditor, on Thursday appealed to personnel of the Service to make their reports and general conduct inspire confidence and bring respect to the Service. He said they could do this by adhering to methods consistent with international auditing standards. Mr Simpson said this at a forum organized by the Audit Service in the Volta Region as part of activities marking the centenary celebrations of the Service. The celebration was on the theme, "A centenary of Public Sector Auditing-Defining New Frontiers."

Mr Simpson described the Audit Service as a very important institution established and empowered by law to safeguard public funds for which reason its personnel must exhibit professionalism. He said some personnel of the Service did not conduct themselves well on the field and advised them to be firm and resist being coerced by some public officers to act unprofessionally. Mr Simpson asked them to apply ethical guidelines to their work and make their audit reports well grounded. He appealed to the public to see auditors as friends and people working in the interest of the State. "The public must not see us as witch hunters or enemies but as co-workers seeking the interest of the State and help us to function well," he said.

He commended some decentralized institutions for cooperating with the Audit Service in the region and slammed some district assemblies for making the work of auditors difficult. Mr Simpson called for a good working relationship between auditors and public officers to ensure transparency, accountability and good governance.