Dr Callistus Mahama, Head of Local Government Service, has advised internal auditors not to limit their operations to financial auditing alone but must also audit progress of project in their districts.

He said it was the surest avenue of ensuring that the limited resource was put to good use to improve the livelihood of the people. Dr Mahama gave the advice at the opening of a two-day workshop for 46 newly recruited internal auditors from 26 municipal, metropolitan and district assemblies in Tamale on Thursday.

Participants would be taken through the Public Financial Law, Local Government Regulations, Public Service Regulation and Auditing Management and Process, to sharpen their skills.

He said; “All you have to do is to match the assemblies’ vision to the performance of ongoing projects. This will prevent people from misappropriating funds”. Dr Mahama urged auditors to also focus more on scrutinizing the collection and usage of the internally generated funds to prevent misappropriation to ensure accountability.

“These days, resources are not easy to get so it is important we manage the available ones and make sure they are used judiciously to benefit the people through the development of various infrastructural projects,” he said. He appealed to them not to be perturbed by challenges associated with their work but find ways of addressing them to serve the common good.

Alhaji Issahaku Alhassan, Northern Regional Coordinating Director, urged participants to arm themselves with the knowledge to enable them to work effectively and efficiently. He appealed to the participants to do their work with dedication, commitment and hard work as their contribution towards building a peaceful and prosperous nation.