The Audit Committee of the OHLGS was inaugurated by Dr. E.O. Osae, Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency on 13th December, 2022. The Chief Director, Mr. James Oppong-Mensah was the Chairman for the function.
Members of the Committee are Dr. Kwame Aveh (IAA Rep and Chairman of the Committee), Mr. Usman Abdul Razak (IAA Rep), Mr. Samuel Frempong (ICAG Rep), Ing. Nana Ato Arthur and Madam Catherine Agyapomaa Appiah-Pinkrah are representatives of OHLGS.
Dr. Osae in delivering his speech said the functions of the Committee as prescribed by the Public Financial Management Law are mandatory, advisory and supporting. He explained that the mandatory roles of the Committee include assisting leadership in the implementation of recommendations contained in Internal and External Audit Reports. Also, an important role of the Committee is the preparation of an annual report including the annual statement of status of implementation of its activities. In addition, Regulation 228 of L.I.2378 empowers an Audit Committee as part of its mandatory functions to investigate matters in relation to suspected cases of fraud or misuse of public funds.
The advisory roles, Dr. Osae informed the Committee, include the provision of advisory and assurance services. The areas of focus are financial and risk management practices, compliance with Laws, Regulations and Policies and internal control and governance processes. On the supporting roles of the Committee, the Director-General stated that it includes providing particular support to the Internal Auditor under Section 83 (9) (10) of the PFM Act (Act 921) and Regulations 220 and 222 of the PFMR (L.I.2378). He elaborated that the Committee should assist the Internal Auditor in the preparation and timely submission of quarterly internal audit reports. He emphasised that failure to submit reports on time will attract appropriate sanctions.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Oppong-Mensah mentioned that the Service has a 100% reports submission record and entreated the Committee to help maintain it.
