A Partner at PwC Ghana, George Arhin, has called for the enactment of a new law that supports lifestyle audit in the country.
He said currently the country had no such law to provide guidelines and punishments for individuals who abused their position to acquire wealth.
“In Ghana, we don't have a law and that's where we fall short. We have the asset declaration form, which says that you must declare your assets before you assume office.
“Every four years, you must declare them again, and upon leaving, you must declare but that's where it ends. So, after the declaration, what next?” he questioned.
He further stated that the absence of a comprehensive law in the country limited the effectiveness of lifestyle audits.
Mr Arhin was speaking at the MG Dialogues organised by Media General in Accra yesterday.
It was on the theme, “Lifestyle Audits: Enhancing Public Service Ethics”
Lifestyle Audit
Mr Arhin explained that a Lifestyle Audit involved the examination of an individual's declared income and assets against their lifestyle and expenditure patterns.
He said a Lifestyle Audit was usually triggered by discrepancies, such as living beyond one's means or suspicious social media activity.
“There are triggers to lifestyle audits; the way you live, the way you appear on social media, may attract people or may make people think you are living beyond your means and trigger a lifestyle audit,” he said.
Key elements
Explaining further, he said there were four key elements of a Lifestyle Audit, which included the individual, the organisation mandating the audit, the law, and the auditor.
He said it was important for the individual being audited to build trust and integrity and also be truthful and honest.
For the organisation mandating the audit, he stressed the need for them to be neutral and fair, avoiding discrimination based on race, gender or political affiliation.
He said the auditor must also remain independent and transparent, respecting the individual's data and gathering only relevant information, adding that Illegal means such as hacking were prohibited in gathering information for the audit.
“You cannot use illegal means to gather information.
You cannot use hacking and all sort of things to gather information about individuals in the lifestyle audit, because it's not supported by the law.
Mr Arhin stressed that a lifestyle audit must be authorised by a law or a contract, and therefore advised that the evidence gathered must be transparent and chronological, allowing anyone to reach the same conclusion.
“For any lifestyle audit to be undertaken, it needs to be authorised, and the basis is either a law or a contract.
“If you work for an organisation and during your employment you sign a contract that you subject yourself to lifestyle audit, it is on that basis that the organisation can initiate a lifestyle audit,” he said.
No law needed
Meanwhile, a Governance and Legal Reforms advocate, Dr David Ofosu-Dorte, said there was no need for the country to enact another law.
To him, for a new institution to start lifestyle audit would create a conflict with institutions such as the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Attorney-General and the Ghana Police Service, among other institutions, as they were already exerting certain powers in that regard.
