The Board Chairman of Internal Audit Agency, Mr Joseph Winful says the vigilance of his outfit in public institutions has saved the country GH?5.4 billion from financial irregularities, according to the 2023 Auditor-General’s report.

Mr Winful said the Agency had consistently worked with audit committees and Internal Auditors to reduce annual financial irregularities across the public sector. 

He said this in Accra at a media interaction ahead of this year’s Internal Annual Conference which begun on Tuesday, August 20 and will end on Friday, August 23, 2024, at the University for Professional Studies, Accra. 

He mentioned that the Agency had collaborated with the State Interests and Governance Authority and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) to support the State-Owned Enterprises (SoEs) and other institutions to strengthen their financial management and reporting systems.

This, he said led to a significant improvement in their operations of a material reduction in irregularities in the State Owned Enterprises sector by 41.57 per cent in 2023.? 

The Agency, the Board Chairman said, was implementing a national roadmap in collaboration with the IIA and the ICAG in preparation to meet the global mandatory reporting date of January 2025. 

Mr Winful added that the Agency was working with the IIA and Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana to roll out the new Sustainability and Climate-Related Disclosure Standards across the internal audit sector of the country. 

He entreated all internal auditors to remain professional and apolitical as demanded by the ethics of the profession and discharge their responsibilities with distinction ahead of the elections. 

He also advised internal auditors and audit committees not to compromise their positions because it had the potential of undermining democratic and good financial governance.?