THE Acting Director of Legal Education, Professor Raymond Atuguba, has emphasised the need to integrate internal auditors into the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
That, he emphasised, was crucial to enable them to electronically endorse, communicate, or query financial and other transactions.
Prof. Atuguba made the call in his closing remarks at the 2025 Annual Internal Auditors Conference held in Accra.
The two-day programme, which ended yesterday (Tuesday), was on the theme: ‘Resetting the Ghanaian Economy: The Role of the Internal Auditor.’
As part of the event, awards were presented to hardworking auditors for their performance in the 2024 financial year.
The winners received plaques, laptops, and cash prizes, while participants were also taken through stress management sessions to promote their health.
Prof. Atuguba said internal auditors should be elevated from mere compliance checkers to planners in the country’s development agenda.
According to him, given the crucial role auditors played in protecting the public purse, they should be active participants in the national development process rather than being on the periphery.
On the issue of corruption, he highlighted that while corruption remained a major topic, it was not the only source of wastage in national development.
“In my research in Ghana and abroad, I have found that of all the wastage that appears in development areas, not more than 10 per cent is attributable to corruption,” he explained.
“If we focus on the other 70 per cent of wastage, we will achieve better results in preserving our national resources,” Prof. Atuguba stated.
He added that studies on illicit financial outflows from Africa over the past two decades showed that only about five per cent were linked to corruption, saying “If we focus on the remaining 95 per cent of outflows, we will make greater progress.”
He warned that Ghana could not end corruption or reset its economy without confronting the realities of the country’s monetised democracy.
“To end corruption, we must either reform our democracy to make elections less expensive or reimburse politicians for their campaign expenses with interest when they assume office,” he cautioned.
Furthermore, Prof. Atuguba cautioned that failing to do so would only push politicians to find alternative means, such as illicit mining, to finance their political activities.
He expressed gratitude to all who contributed to the success of the conference and added that the recommendations at the conference would be submitted to the government for action.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
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