Ayine: weak auditing culture erodes institutions value

The Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Anthony M. Ayine, has identified years of weak auditing, especially in developing countries, as the cause of poor appreciation of the value of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI’s)  role in accountability cycle across the world.

Ayine spoke when he presented a paper as one of the lead speakers at the just concluded 9th International Public Sector Conference organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), in Prague, Czech Republic.

“Years of weak auditing cause the average citizen to be unaware of the value and importance of the SAI as an institution that is central to the accountability cycle. There is a need for the citizens to participate more and become better aware of the role of the SAI,” he said.

Speaking on the principal challenges facing SAIs globally, he said it was regrettable that “the INTOSAI Lima Declaration of 1977 on the prerequisites for the independent and effective functioning of SAI is yet to be well applied across many developing countries.”

The Declaration of Lima, adopted by the IX International Congress of INTOSAI in Lima, Peru, in 1977, is considered to be the Magna Carta of government audit defines the prerequisites for its independent and effective functioning.

The International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions is the global affiliation of governmental entities whose members comprise of Chief Financial Controller, Comptroller-General, Auditor-General Offices of nations and it was founded in 1953 in Havana, Cuba, but with headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

While recognising social media as “a key channel” for information dissemination, Mr. Ayine however advised SAIs to be careful so as “not to get the institution involved in public debates,” saying the key question remains ‘how vocal should SAI be on social media?’

Mr. Ayine also gave some pieces of advice on how SAIs can support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.

He said: “SAIs can baseline, benchmark and track progress across the various institutions responsible for delivery of the government’s commitment under each SDG. SAIs can also invest in their capacity to give expert recommendations to these key institutions,” while SAI reports “should be timely and the possible efficiency savings or gains should be clear.”