On Friday, June 26, 2015, The Institute of Internal Auditors (Ghana) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the CLOGSAG Hall, Ministries, Accra. At the AGM, nine new Governing Council members were elected. While Mr. Richard Ntim, Chief Internal Auditor of Ghana Grid Company was elected the new President, Mrs. Juliet Aboagye-Wiafe, Chief Internal Auditor of Ghana Airports Company was elected as the new Vice –President. The seven other Governing Council members elected were:
(a) Mr. Emanuel Ackom, Principal Internal Auditor – Ghana Aids Commission;
(b) Mr. Kofi Asumadu-Apenteng, Head of Audit – Ministry of Defence;
(c) Mrs. Harriet Akua Karikari, Head of Internal Audit – Ghana Institute of Journalism;
(d) Mrs. Anastasia Adjoa, Menyawovor, Chief Internal Auditor – Community Water and Sanitation Agency;
(e) Mr. Carl Aruna Nelson, Chief Operating Officer – Ghana Investment Promotion Centre;
(f) Mr. Fredrick Pokoo-Aikins, Managing Consultant – Altun TC Consults; and
(g) Mr. Daniel Kofi Quampah, Partner – CFY Partners.
The immediate past president, Mr. Eric Nathaniel Yankah, Executive Director – Yankahlink Advisors, by the IIAG constitution remains an ex-officio member of the Governing Council. The AGM marked the tenth anniversary of the birth of the IIAG. The Institute has its offices within the CLOGSAG building.
On Friday, May 13, 2005, the Institute of Internal Auditors (Ghana) was formally inaugurated at the International Conference Center by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the late Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu on behalf the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellence Mr. J.K. Kufuor. Currently the IIAG has paid up membership of about 300. Its current membership is drawn from internal auditing practitioners and educators with interest in internal auditing from both public and private organisations and institutions in Ghana.
The Institute is the foremost Internal Auditing professional body in Ghana dedicated to the promotion and development of the principles and practice of internal auditing in Ghana. It is affiliated to the worldwide internal audit professional body, the Institute of Internal Auditors with its head office based in Florida, the United States of America.Established in 1941, The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association with global headquarters in Altamonte Springs, Florida, USA. The IIA is the internal audit profession’s global voice, recognized authority, acknowledged leader, chief advocate, and principal educator. Generally, members work in internal auditing, risk management, governance, internal control, information technology audit, education, and security.
The Institute’s mission is to:
(a) Provide on a national scale comprehensive professional development activities and the setting of standards for the practice of internal auditing and certification.
(b) Engage in research and disseminate to its members and to the public throughout Ghana, knowledge and information concerning internal auditing, international standards, organisations’ reporting standards, and enterprise risk management as well as related subjects.
(c) Organise continuing development programmes in order to educate members and interested parties on the practice of internal auditing as it exists worldwide.
(d) Bring together internal auditors and internal auditing educators from various organisations to share information and experiences in internal auditing and reporting as well as good corporate governance.
Membership of the Institute brings benefits which include:
(a) The update of knowledge regarding current International Internal Auditing Standards, procedures and best practices.
(b) Continuous review of audit programmes and procedures in line with international standards and best practices to perform value for money audits.
(c) Exchange of information, ideas and experiences to enable members to be more effective, proficient and professional in the performance of their work. This would be done without compromising any company’s specific confidential information.
(d) Maintaining technical competency through continuous education so as to equip members in providing reliable and efficient service to management.
(e) Continuous examination and evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of organisations’ operating systems, internal controls and the quality of performance in carrying out assigned responsibilities, and
(f) The benefits associated with affiliation with the Florida body through educational materials, training programmes and updates on internal auditing practice.
At the age of ten, the IIAG may be deemed to be a young baby. However, the history of the Institute goes back a little bit into time. The Institute was founded in April 2001 as the recognized professional body of Internal Auditing for Internal Auditors by some public spirited individuals working in institutions like the Bank of Ghana and the Volta River Authority. Indeed at its early stages these two institutions provided massive moral, financial and personnel support to the Institute. On the other hand, the conception of the Institute goes a little back into time. Sometime in 1988, Kwame Gyasi came out with an innovative idea to organise an annual conference for Auditors and Accountants. The first conference was organised in December 20, 1988 at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) under the theme “The Practice of Auditing in Ghana”, and attracted about 126 delegates of varied professionals with majority being accountants and auditors.
That noble effort brought together renowned resource persons including the following: Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, a banker and then a member of the PNDC who also delivered the keynote address, Honourable Albert Kan-Dapaah, former Minister of Energy who was then the Director of Audit, Electricity Corporation of Ghana, Honourable Yaw Osafo-Maafo, former Minister of Finance who was then the Managing Director of the Bank for Housing and Construction, the late R.T. Nelson, the then Auditor-General, who incidentally was the Chairman of the function, the late I. D. Ewum-Thoma, the then Controller and Accountant-General, the late J. D. Essuman the then Acting Registrar-General, the late K. N. Owusu, the then President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) and the Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, and the late P. A. Abotsie, a former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) who at that time was a Senior Partner of Coopers and Lybrand.
One of the important decisions taken during the conference was to establish a professional body for Internal Auditors in Ghana. Mr. R. T. Nelson and Mr. Kwame Gyasi took it upon themselves to start the preliminary arrangement for the establishment of the Institute. Unfortunately, not long after the conference, Mr. Nelson was suddenly and inexplicable removed from office in a manner that affected him psychologically and health-wise. Even though at a later stage, the government which had dismissed him attempted to rehabilitate him, sadly enough, it was too little too late. Mr. Nelson died soon after. This incident put on hold all further attempts to establish the Institute, and even though three other subsequent Annual Auditing Conferences were organized by Mr. Gyasi, the burden was too great for one person to bear.. The birth of the Institute on May 13, 2005 thus flowed from spirited efforts by some internal auditing practitioners and educators to keep the dream alive.
E-mail: makgyasi@ug.edu.gh
By Kwame Gyasi