The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr. E.O. Osae on 26th October, 2022 inaugurated the Audit Committee of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS).
Mr. Mensah Bonsu, Director, HR chaired the event on behalf of the Minister who was away on a national assignment. In his opening remarks, Mr. Mensah Bonsu mentioned that the Ministry was well prepared for the induction of members of the Committee who are experienced professionals in their own rights.
Members of the Committee are Mr. Patrick Vug Nanke (IAA Rep and Chairman of the Committee), Madam Ernestina Djametey (IAA Rep), Frank S. Nkrumah (ICAG Rep), Messiers Harrison K. Sasu and Horen K. Quashigah are representatives from MoYS. Ms. Catherine Kuuzegh is Secretary to the Committee.
The Director-General in delivering his address said the Audit Committee is a statutory Committee created under the PFM Act.to support Management deliver on its mandate. He listed the roles of the Committee as mandatory, advisory and supporting. The mandatory roles as expounded by Dr. Osae include supporting Management to put in place systems to curb infractions. Included, is also the preparation and submission of Mid-year and Annual Reports detailing how far the Committee has supported Management to implement recommendations in Internal and External Audit Reports. He mentioned that copies of these reports go to the Office of the President, Parliament, Auditor-General and Internal Audit Agency. He charged members to work to ensure infractions discovered by External Auditors are very minimal.
The advisory roles according to Dr. Osae include advising leadership of the Ministry to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations. He explained that the public sector is currently moving away from conventional auditing to a risk-based one which requires proactiveness in identifying weaknesses and providing advice on their resolution. He tasked the Committee to assist Management mainstream enterprise risk management into its operations.
On the supporting roles, the Director-General stated that the Committee should support the Internal Audit Unit (IAU) to deliver on its mandate. He stressed that Internal Auditors are required to provide assurance and advisory services to Management and if this was done well, the institution would be one of the best in the country. Dr. Osae tasked members to take part in Entrance and Exit Meetings of External Auditors to familiarize themselves with audit issues raised and be able to provide solutions. He advised Management to organize an orientation for members to put them in a better position of understanding the operations of the institution.
In concluding, Dr. Osae mentioned that one of the KPIs of the Agency is to ensure reduction in infractions reported by External Auditors. He thanked leadership for giving the Agency the opportunity to perform its statutory function.
