He said it behooved internal auditors to be bold and condemn wrongdoing, adding, “You must occupy your space as the conscience of the nation.”

MrBagbinmade the call at the opening of the ninth African Federation of Institute of Internal Auditors (AFIIA) International Conference, in Accra, on Wednesday.

The three-day conference, which brought together at least 700 participants from around the world, was held on the theme:“Sustainability through innovation.”

MrBagbinsaid the demand for greater speed and more transparency in service was expected from the public sector, for which reason sustained innovation that could deliver fast and effective services to the public was needed.

He said that Parliament would better protect the public purse when internal auditors and the Auditor-General collaborate effectively.

“I, therefore, expect more effective tripartite collaboration between the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), national agencies responsible for internal audit and the Auditors-General in all African countries in identifying ways for managing the risks associated with the changing business environment.”

“I also call on national governments to make further commitments to facilitating the capacity development of internal auditors if we are to gain serious benefit from them,” MrBagbinstated.

The IIA Global Chairman, Benito Ybarra, urged internal auditors to strive to improve their profession and consider the impact they would make if they carry out their responsibilities effectively.

He said his role afforded him the opportunity to travel around the world to ascertain the working situation of internal auditors in order to come up with strategies together with the global team to address challenges.

Director-General, Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr Eric OduroOsae, encouraged leaders, boards and managements to rely on the preventive role of internalauditors.

“Reliance on internal auditors along the entire managerial chainis critical because, by their training, insight and foresight, theyare best placed to anticipate the consequences of a presentaction and prescribe remedial measures to minimise risksassociated with such actions,” he said.

Mrs Harriet AkuaKarikari, IIA President, said the conference was aimed at transforming and challenging internal auditors, to think outside the box, explore bold initiatives to innovate and be able to scale new heights.

She said the conference was also a continuing effort of the journey towards building a better Africa and a better world.

MrsKarikarinoted that Ghana was the only country to have hosted the conference twice and that it was the first time the Global Executive body was attending an AFIIA Conference.