WELCOME TO GAS

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

Presentation by

Benjamin G. Codjoe

DAG-PSAD

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

THE PSAD

Performance Audit Unit

IT Audit Unit

STRUCTURE OF PSAD

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

DAG-PSAD (65)

AAG 1 AAG 4

Capital projects audits

Environmental Audits

Social interventions

Audits

AAG 3

PAU (48) ITAU (17)

AAG 2

THE PAU

What is Performance Auditing?

According to the fundamental principles ofperformance auditing as stated in ISSAI 300,‘performance auditing is an independent,objective and reliable examination of whethergovernment undertakings, systems, operations,programmes, activities or organisations areoperating in accordance with the principles ofeconomy, efficiency and effectiveness andwhether there is room for improvement.

THE PAU

Performance auditing seeks to provide new information, analysis or insights and, where appropriate, recommendations for improvement. Performance audits provide new information, knowledge or value by:

providing new analytical insights (broader or deeper analysis or new perspectives);

making existing information more accessible to various stakeholders;

providing an independent and authoritative view or conclusion based on audit evidence; and

providing recommendations based on an analysis of audit findings. ISSAI 300:9-10.

THE PAU

Established in 2001

Total of 48 field staff

Tabled over 75 audit reports to Parliament

Registered significant impact with our reports

Positioned to audit Extractive Industry

Oil and Gas

Infrastructure

Environmental

Programmes and Activities

STAFF SPECIALITIES

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

Engineers

Quantity Surveyors

Environmental Scientists

Architects

English Majors

Communication

Economists

Social Scientists

Statisticians

Others

OUR STRENGTH

Independence

Diverse background of staff

Built Capacity

Management and PAC support

Our manuals and Guides

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

Our audit focus

Health

Education

Agriculture

Water and Sanitation

Mining, Waste Disposal, forest degradation (Environment related)

Infrastructure (Roads, Housing, Schools etc.)

Social services (Programs)

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

Tabled in Parliament 2017 (from 2016)

Disposal of Government Assets (MoH)

Ensuring safety of medicines in Ghana by FDA

Governance of National Apprenticeship program by Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET)

Forest Plantation Management

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

Tabled in Parliament 2018/2019

Disposal of Hospital Waste

Government of Ghana’s Preparedness for Implementation of SDGs

Management of Human Effluent by AMA

Dismantling of E-waste

Regulating Small Scale Mining for Sustainable Environment

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

Pending Reports

Awoshie - Pokuasi Road Project

Response to Livestock Disease

Disability Friendliness of Public buildings

Sustainability of Sports Stadia in Ghana

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

Collaboration with Development Partners

USA GSAM (Audit of 50 District and Metro Assemblies)

KfW

GIZ

Special Audits for Ministries

Participate in all AFROSAI-E events

WGEI

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance

IT Audit Unit

Standards, Frameworks, Guidelines and tools for IT Auditing

• ISO 27000 – Information Security Management

• ISO 20000 - IT Service Management

• ISO 31000 – IT Risk Management

• ISO 38500 – IT Governance

• ITIL (IT Infrastructure library)

• COBIT (Control Objectives for IT)

Standards, Frameworks, Guidelines and tools for IT Auditing (contd.)

• ISSAI 5300 – Guidelines on IT Audits

• ISSAI 5310 – information system security review

• Afrosai-E guidelines

• ISACA

• Best practices

• Audit products (IDEA)

Functions of the IT Audit Unit

The core functions of the IT Audit Unit:Audits and reviews

reviewing computerized financial and accounting systems and electronic transaction.

approving the form in which these are kept as stated in the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584), Section 11(3), Act.

Performing Joint audits with financial auditors

Training of Audit Staff in:

- basic IT Audit

- IDEA

- IDI Advanced IT Audit

Functions of the IT Audit Unit

Focus on determining risks that are relevant to information assets, and

to assess controls in order to reduce or

mitigate these risks.

Selecting organizations to be audited

Sometimes the selection of the organizations to be audited are influenced by:

Request from our clients

Request from other departments, branches and units within the Audit Service

Request from the Auditor General and

management (Issues of public interest)

Tasks undertaken

In order to meet the statutory mandate of GAS, anationwide IT mapping exercise was carried out toidentify the business critical IT systems used in:

– Ministries,

– Departments and Agencies (MDAs),

– Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and

– Educational Institutions.

234 institutions were interviewed during the

first tranche

After IT Census

After the IT mapping exercise, the data collected from the organizations:-

were assessed for the complexity of each of the IT systems identified. The organizations were categorized according to the level of computerization.

High level computerization

Medium level computerization

Low level computerization

Critical Systems

Some 12 critical systems have been identified during a recent visit by the World Bank

GIFMIS

Procurement systems

Payroll

GCNET

Data Center

ID System

Critical systems (contd.)

BOG OPS

Debt Management System

BIZ Registry

E Parliament

Digital Signature

Public Investment Management

We also perform joint audits with the financial auditors

Training

Training of Financial Auditors to carry out basic IT auditing

Capacity building of IT Auditors to handle in-house training of IT Auditors

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Ghana Audit Service -Promoting Accountability and Good Governance