Auditors fingered in corrupt deals; 2 caught trying to steal ¢8,000 from gov't

Head of Local Government Services, Nana Ato Arthur, has accused internal auditors of complicity of corrupt practices, leading to the payment of fraudulent bills to contractors and other government suppliers. He claimed some these auditors falsify documents and cook figures that inure to their personal gains at the expense of the government. “I have the report; internal auditors in some regions scanning documents, falsifying documents and we are investigating them. “Service providers go to Assemblies to provide service and an internal auditor scans the document and changes the figure from Ghc 10,000 to Ghc 18,000,” he disclosed at the 5th annual congress of the National Internal Auditors Association Nana Ato Arthur said some internal auditors involved in such corrupt practices are currently facing interdiction as investigations are launched into their activities. He disclosed there are currently two cases from the Eastern and Oti regions involving some internal auditors who allegedly falsified figures to benefit from the surplus payments. The head of the Local Government Services also mentioned cases where internal auditors collude with engineers to make payments for non existent projects “Just last week, I was at Dambai, professionals collude with engineers and make payments for non-existent projects in the Volta Region,” he revealed. Nonetheless, he underscored the critical role of internal auditors to weed out corrupt practices for the country to achieve its Ghana Beyond Aid agenda. He stressed “audit is a key function which contributes substantially towards efficient and effective use of national resources, therefore as professionals you owe it a duty to the service to avoid acts which are inconsistent with efficient, transparent, accountable and professionally managed public sector audit system in Ghana” President of the Auditors’ Association, Michael Ayivi, bemoaned the lukewarm attitude of management of institutions towards the work of internal auditors. Challenges facing internal auditors include lack of independence in the performance of their duties, less attention to audit reports and poor remuneration, he stated. The Congress was on theme: “Restructuring Internal Auditing as an Effective Management Tool for Resource Mobilization”. By Beatrice Spio Garbrah|editors.3news.com|Ghana