Mission Audits: Be factual – Auditor-General to Staff

The Audit Service has organised a 3-day workshop to equip selected staff of the Service to undertake the 2019 Missions Audit.

This assignment is in line with fulfilling the Auditor-General’s mandate of auditing the revenue and expenditure patterns of Ghana’s Missions and Consuls abroad and reporting his findings to Parliament.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Auditor-General (AG), Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo, urged participants not to depend on the Missions to provide them with accommodation as the Service had given them money for their rent. Depending on the audited entity, he remarked, compromises on the auditor’s independence.

Mr Domelevo said that participants should be factual in their reporting. The AG reminded them that under Section 33 of the Audit Service Act 2000, it is an offence to report any information which is not true.

The AG said that he expects all teams to raise audit observations on declaration of assets. He said Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution demands that Ambassadors / High Commissioners / Head of Chancellors and all those who qualify to declare their assets before they assume office and before they leave office. For those officials who are professionals, they are to declare their assets every four years.

He urged teams to coexist with each other and work to produce a report. Mr Domelevo also asked participants to be disciplined as they are Ambassadors in the countries they would be posted to and make Ghana proud.

In his opening remarks, the Deputy Auditor-General in charge of Central Government Audits, Mr. George Swanzy Winful said that the Service has put together for the first time a consolidated report of the 2018 Mission Audit Findings but was yet to forward it to Parliament and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He added that the Service would continue with this feat onwards.

Participants were taken through topics such as Missions Budget, Budgetary Controls and Financial Management, Management of Missions Fixed Assets, Introduction to Mission Audit Courtesies and Comportment by Auditors as well as Surcharge and Disallowance.

Facilitators were from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Audit Service.Present at the opening were the Deputy-Auditors General for Finance, Administration and Human Resource Development, Performance and Special Audits as well as Commercial Audits – Mrs. Roberta Asiamah-Appiah, Messrs Benjamin Codjoe and Johnson Asiedu Akuamoah respectively.