Yaya Drammeh, deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, has said that as part of the public financial management reform strategy, strengthening the Internal Audit Directorate was identified as one of the key ways of improving public service delivery, and enhancing good governance through a more transparent and accountable pubic system.
DPS Drammeh was delivering his speech at the opening of a daylong training workshop for vote controllers of the internal audit directorate, held at the Atlantic Hotel in Banjul on Tuesday.
The training session was organised by the Directorate of Internal Audit under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, with the aim to expose senior government accounting officers to internal auditing procedures, risk management and internal audit standards that would guide them in the design and setting up of financial as well as management control around their various operations.
DPS Drammeh explained that sound internal audit and risk management functions enable the government to realist a desirable budgetary outcome, and to ensure that there is value for money in all public programmes.
According to him, the manual provides guidelines, illustrations and supporting audit programmes which the government internal auditors are required to use in their day-to-day internal audit work.
“The internal audit function has improved in terms of quality and timely submission of audited reports,” he stated. “There has been marked improvement in internal auditing and public procurement, following the establishment and operation of the internal audit directorate and audit committee.”
DPS Drammeh further said the office of the internal auditor is taking keen interest in the training course, as it contributes toward their mandate of ensuring effective and lawful use of public resources.
He said: “We are now on the process of posting permanent internal auditors to all key ministries by end of 2015, for timely review of internal controls in operations and effectiveness.”
Mr Drammeh explained that the government attaches significant importance to ensuring, that public financial management reform initiatives that have been undertaken are sustained, and that further reforms are championed so that all spending agencies, ministries, department and local government authorities perform their financial management function at international standard.
He described the forum as very important with regards to exposing of internal mandate, audit procedures based on the internal audit charter, manual and international standards adopted.
DPS Drammeh expressed hope that at the end of the forum, the outcome would benefit the participants “as far as effective and lawful management of public resources are concerned”.
He expressed gratitude to the African Development Bank through the Institutional Support for Economic and Financial Governance Project for its financial and material support toward the development of “this important government document” for the internal audit directorate.
