Minerals Commission inaugurates audit committee

A-five member Audit Committee for the Minerals Commission has been inaugurated with a call on members to take interest in the implementation of risk management strategies and ensure a high level of corporate governance.

Mr Ransford Adjei, Acting Director-General Internal Audit Agency, who swore members into office, urged the members to particularly pay attention in evaluating and assessing the Commission’s top management’s commitments to ethics and the implementation of good corporate governance framework and human resource issues.

He said it was important for the Committee to ensure that the Internal Audit Division of the Department was functional and effective as it was key to successful control mechanisms within the organization.

Mr Paul Agyemang of the Institute of Chartered Accountants chairs the five-member committee; comprising Mr Isaac Amartey, Internal Audit Agency; Mr Emmanuel Donkor, Internal Audit Agency; Mr James Koligu Ataki, Board Member Minerals Commission; and Mr Joseph Albert Quarm, Board Member Minerals Commission.

The Committee was tasked to support Management of the Commission to meet the financial management reforms under the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, 2016 (Act 921).

It is also expected to provide the necessary assistance to the management in the implementation of any recommendations contain in an Internal Audit Report, Parliament’s decision on the Auditor-General’s Report, Auditor-General’s Management Letter and the report of an Internal Monitoring Unit in the Department.

They are also required to prepare annual statement to indicate the remedial action taken or proposed to avoid or minimise the recurrence of an undesirable feature in the accounts and operations of a covered entity; and indicate the period for the completion of the remedial action.

Mr Adjei, therefore, urged the members to be independent, firm and committed in the discharge of their duties and to be guided always by the tenets of the PFM Act as well as sound business insight.

Overall, he said, in performing their roles members must be guided by integrity, honesty and adherence to the law as well as bringing objectivity to bear in their work.

Besides, members must champion transparency and accountability as well as ensure careful handling of confidential information and materials.

“You must ask about operational issues and not limit yourselves to financial issues alone,” he advised.

He also urged management to ensure that an Internal Audit Office was made effective, properly resourced with adequate capacity to meet the requirements of implementing an efficient risks management strategy.

Mr Addae Antwi-Bosiako, the Chief Executive Officer, Minerals Commission, who chaired the event, said the internal audit is good, adding that any system without a self-checking mechanism is not good.

He expressed the hope that the Committee would work assiduously to support Management to carry out its responsibilities with regard to the implementation of the audit recommendations and related risks management issues.

“I can assure you all that Management is committed to supporting the Committee to discharge its mandate,” Mr Antwi-Bosiako added.