The Ghana Audit Service is an independent government agency in Ghana that is responsible for carrying out the audits on the accounts of the Government, Regions as well as the activities of the Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Companies under the Government of Ghana. Both the Office of the

Auditor-General of Ghana The auditor-general of Ghana is the head of the Ghana Audit Service, a legislative branch agency re-established by the government of Ghana in 1992 through the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. It was established as part of the Audit Service through Arti ...

and the Ghana Audit Service were established by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Internationally, the equivalent of the Ghana Audit Service is referred to as the

Supreme Audit Institution A supreme audit institution is an independent national-level institution which conducts audits of government activities. Most supreme audit institutions are established in their country's constitution, and their mandate is further refined in natio ...

(SAI). The

International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is an intergovernmental organization whose members are supreme audit institutions. Nearly every supreme audit institution in the world is a member of INTOSAI. Depending on th ...

(INTOSAI) is the international board that oversees and creates

benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Experimental benchmarking, the act of defining a ...

for

auditing An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

public entities A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

for all Supreme Audit Institutions including Ghana who are also members. In other jurisdictions the Audit Service is referred to as National Audit Office, Central Auditing Organization, National Accountability Office, the Office of the Auditor-General or the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General. It falls under the regional body African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI) and the sub-regional body as an English speaking country, African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions- English (AFROSAI-E).

History

Gold Coast Audit Department

According to the audit service, auditing of government's services started in 1910 when annually the British Colonial Administration brought in external auditors to the then Gold Coast colony from the

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

in London, in order to audit and investigate the funds granted to the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

to manage the colony. Eventually, the British Colonial Administration via the Colonial Audit Office in London set up a local Audit Office headed by a Director, whose core task was to annually submit an audit report to the Director in charge of the Colonial Audit office in London. After Kwame Nkrumah took over as prime minister in 1951, the role of the department was maintained through the Legislative Assembly. The 1954 Constitution of Ghana drawn by his Government put the department into the civil service. The department has since maintained its role as a key independent agency to oversee, audit and investigate the accounts of the Government of Ghana till date.

Ghana Audit Service

When Ghana was on the verge of moving back into constitutional rule, the Ghana Audit Service was set up by Article 188 of the 1992

Constitution of Ghana The Constitution of Ghana is the supreme law of the Republic of Ghana. It was approved on 28 April 1992 through a national referendum after 92% support. It defines the fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, pow ...

as part of the Public Services of Ghana.

Function

The Ghana Audit Service serves as the legislative instrument through which the Auditor-General undertakes auditing and investigative work on the public accounts of Ghana and the

Government of Ghana The Government of Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments in Ghana. In January 1993, military government gave way to the Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary elect ...

as instituted mandatorily by Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. It serves as the sole

supreme audit institution A supreme audit institution is an independent national-level institution which conducts audits of government activities. Most supreme audit institutions are established in their country's constitution, and their mandate is further refined in natio ...

of Ghana. The Ghana Audit Service falls under the regional body African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI) and the sub-regional body as an English speaking country, African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions-English (AFROSAI-E).

Agency executives

The

serves as the head of the Ghana Audit Service. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu is the current Auditor-General of Ghana. There are six deputy Auditor-Generals who assist the Auditor-General in different capacities. They are in charge of the following departments; * Finance, Administration and Human Resources Department * Commercial Audits Department * Performance Audits Department (PSAD) * Educational Institutions Department * Central Government Audit Department * District Assemblies Department {{cite web , url=https://ghaudit.org/web/about-us-new/ , title=About Us | Ghana Audit Service

Similar agencies in governments worldwide

Government Accountability Office The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the s ...

Supreme Chamber of Control of the Republic of Poland The Supreme Audit Office (, abbreviated ''NIK'') is the supreme audit institution and also one of the oldest state institutions in Poland, created under the Second Republic on February 7, 1919, barely 3 months after the restoration of Poland's i ...

* Japanese Board of Audit *

National Audit Office (United Kingdom) The National Audit Office (NAO) is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The NAO also carries out valu ...

References

External links

Official Ghana Audit Service Website

International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions/
Government ministries of Ghana Auditing organizations International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions Supreme audit institutions