Ghana Audit Service Wins Award for Best Performance Audit Report

The Ghana Audit Service (GAS) has been awarded the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO) Best Performance Audit Report Award for 2022. This marks the second consecutive year that GAS has received the award and the third time since the award scheme’s inception in 2008.

The award recognizes GAS’s Performance Audit Report on the fleet management of the National Ambulance Service, which covered the period of 2017 to 2021. The report highlighted issues such as unsatisfactory management and deployment of ambulance movement systems, non-adherence to prescribed servicing maintenance schedules, and the contracting of staff as service providers for vehicle maintenance.

During the Strategic Review and the 19th Governing Board Meeting of the African Organisation of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E), GAS was presented with the award. The event’s theme was “Disallowance and Surcharge: Meeting Public Expectations.”

Speaking at the event, Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, the Auditor-General, stressed the importance of meeting the expectations of respective stakeholders who are becoming increasingly interested in audit results. He called for a rethink of how audit is approached, including deepening relationships with stakeholders and ensuring a high level of professionalism through the allocation of relevant auditing standards in discharging audit assignments.

Ms. Helina Lindberg, the Auditor-General of Sweden, also spoke at the event, expressing concern for AFROSAI-E members who continuously face financial and legislative threats as well as leadership instability due to independence issues. She called for collaboration among stakeholders to proactively advocate for the independence of auditor generals in the region.

For the most part, the award serves as a testament to GAS’s commitment to continuously develop the best audit report in the region. AFROSAI-E is the African branch of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (IOSAI), which performs an enabling role in the region by sharing information with its members and supporting them towards the better performance of their mandates.

In a nutshell, GAS’s recognition underscores the importance of protecting the public purse and ensuring accountability and transparency in the public sector. The award should serve as a call to action for stakeholders to work collaboratively towards ensuring that the independence of auditor generals in the region is protected.