The Institute of Internal Auditors Ghana has called for reports of internal auditors working in the banking sector to be copied to the audit committees and the regulator, Bank of Ghana (BoG).
According to the Institute, this will be another way for the regulator to have first-hand information if these banks are complying with controls, regulations and accounting standards.
President of the Institute of Internal Auditors Ghana Juliet Aboagye-Wiafe, in an interview with Joy Business , said with this move, more of the banks and other financial institutions would not take regulations for granted.
“We must see the regulator demanding a copy of the internal auditors report even before the external guys come in to audit. This, I believe, will help BoG compare the two reports and be sure if the bank is following regulation.
“For the internal auditors in the public service their reports now will go directly to the Auditor-General who has also demanded that the external auditors confer with the internal ones and attach to the reports what the internal guys will give them. This then ends the situation where reports stay in the organisation. This helps him to compare and see if there are gaps.”
Seven banks in the last year have had their licences revoked for various breaches of the laws governing the sector.
They include Sovereign Bank, The Royal Bank, Construction Bank, Beige Bank, uniBank, UT Bank and Capital Bank.
Apart from the UT and Capital Banks, whose assets were taken over by the Ghana Commercial Bank, the five other banks were also merged into Consolidated Ghana Bank which is owned by the government through the Ministry of Finance.
The government has had to cough out over ¢7 billion by issuing a bond in a desperate attempt to rescue the sector from near collapse.
Myjoyonline.com
