Business News of Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Source: GNA

Internal auditors brainstorm for improved practices

Mr Kwabena Obese-Jecty, Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has charged Internal auditors to work in tandem with management for efficient corporate practices in public institutions.

He said the functions of internal auditors in the context of corporate governance had assumed newer dimensions.

"In today's business environment, internal auditors are now providing management with a far broader range of information concerning financial, operational and compliance activities," he said.

Mr Obese-Jecty indicated that personnel of the IAA also serve as catalysts for change, advising or advocating objective assessment on the appropriateness of the organisation's activities and economic management.

He was addressing the Sixth Biennial Congress of the Committee of Internal Auditors in Kumasi.

The event, which targeted internal auditors in public universities, was on the theme: "The Value Added Role of the Internal Auditor in Tertiary Institutions."

Topics treated included; Current trends of Fraud and Corruption in Organisations, as well as Introduction of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information Systems.

Mr Obese-Jecty announced that the IAA is sourcing for funds to embark on sensitisation programmes to deepen the understanding of stakeholders on the role of the internal auditor in the contemporary business environment.

It would also train 500 auditors on the job.

Professor William Otoo Ellis, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, urged internal auditors to be duty-conscious in order to safeguard assets and the economical use of resources.

Mr Eric Yankah, President of the Institute of Internal Auditors, asked his colleagues to be abreast of the Internal Audit Charter to guide them in their practices.