Mr. Kofi Amoakohene, the Bono East Regional Minister, has advised members serving on the various audit committees to equip themselves with the relevant laws governing audit operations to protect the national purse.

He said with the requisite knowledge of audit operations, members would be able to address issues within their constitutional mandate to save the nation from loss of funds through wasteful expenditure and corrupt practices.

Mr Amoakohene, also the Member of Parliament for Atebubu-Amanten, gave the advice after the inauguration of a five-member Audit Committee for the Bono East Regional Coordination Council (RCC) at Techiman.

He said the formation and inauguration of the Committee was in accordance with section 86 of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act 921 of 2016 which requires all government institutions to establish audit committees.
He said the committee was mandated to ensure proper and effective financial management practice of the RCC.

Mr Amoakohene said the role of the committee was necessary for the development of the region, in addition to public funds through vigorous internal and external auditing of the use of state funds to attain equal sharing of the national cake.

Mr Amoakohene urged the members to bring their professional knowledge and expertise to bear on their work to guide the RCC in its financial management to contribute in achieving the objective of efficient financial administration at both the regional and national levels
Mr Nathan Kenneth Ekow Yankey, the acting Director of Operations at the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), led the members to swear the three national oaths of office, allegiance and secrecy and urged them to use the committee as an institution to fight and prevent corruption in the region and country.

Mr Yankey mentioned that the PFM systems were key to transparent and accountable governance, indicating that a country without an effective public financial management risked under-development due to loss of public funds.
He explained the Committee under the PFM Act was a high-level corporate governance committee which underpinned the effectiveness of public accountability and efficient use of state resources.