University of Sustainable Development inaugurates Audit Committee
A five-member Audit Committee of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) at Somanya in the Eastern Region has been inaugurated with a call on the members to be effective in taking internal control measures in the institution’s management.
Mr Edward Langmatey, representing the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), is the chairperson of the committee, with the registrar of UESD, Mrs Mary Abena Agyepong, as the secretary.
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The other members are Ms Mary Larmie of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana, Mrs Philomena Sueley Max-Bobie of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr Jemima Anderson and Mr Twumasi Mensah, both UESD Council’s representatives.
The Deputy Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Mr William Offei-Mensah, swore in the members on behalf of the Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, via zoom after they took the oath of office and secrecy.
In attendance were the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson; Director, Finance Directorate of UESD, Mr Baffour Awuah Kwabi, and the Director, Directorate of Internal Audit, UESD, Dr Emmanuel Opoku Ware, among others.
Public funds
Delivering the inaugural address, Dr Osae said public financial management systems were key to transparent and accountable governance and that a country without an effective public financial management system risked underdevelopment due to the loss of public funds.
He said to address those risks and mitigate their impact on the development of the country, the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act 2016 (Act 921) was enacted among the interventions.
He added that the audit committee was a high-level corporate governance committee, which added to the effectiveness of public accountability and the efficient use of state resources.
He, therefore, charged the UESD audit committee inaugurated to fulfill its responsibilities under Section 86 of the PFM Act, the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (LI 2378), the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended, the guidelines for effective functioning of audit committees and other applicable financial laws.
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Processes
Dr Osae noted that corporate governance was about establishing processes and capabilities to ensure reliable achievement of corporate objectives.
He, therefore, said the audit committee should facilitate, support, persuade, advise, help establish and be highly interested in sound governance and internal controls of all its five elements such as control environment, risk assessment of financial and operational activities, control activities, information communication and monitoring activities, to ensure that established controls were working as intended.
The Vice-Chancellor of UESD , Prof. Nyarko-Sampson, praised the Internal Audit Agency for inaugurating the audit committee that would put the university on its toes in dealing with its financial matters.
Expertise
He said he was sure that expertise of the members of the committee would be brought to bear on their professional duties in order to support management to run the institution effectively.
“Management will endeavour to follow the rules and regulations on how we should run the institution. We shall take all pieces of advice seriously to empower us to work well in order to raise the young university to the expected level,” he emphasised.
Mr Langmatey, for his part, said the committee was mandated by law to ensure that the UESD adhered to the rules and regulations of the audit agency, adding, “we shall also provide advice on governance issues as well when need be.