Only 38% of the Auditor General’s recommendations were implemented in the last six years (2015-2020), according to finding of the Audit Tears: “Audit Uptake and Integrity in Sierra Leone” done by the Institute of Governance Reform (IGR).
The Executive Director of IGR, Andrew Lavallie said on Tuesday that there is every need for local and international stakeholders to be concerned about the absence of conversations on audit uptake and fiduciary risk in public institutions.
He said that the findings intend to draw attention of stakeholders to the need to look beyond the current issue between the suspended Auditor General Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce and the Government of Sierra Leone in a bid to seek common ground for increasing audit compliance.
“One step to achieve this is for stakeholders to work towards settling the audit dispute out of court, lower the rhetoric among the parties and promote conversations on audit integrity and uptake of audit recommendations,” Lavallie said.
As part of IGR recommendations, Lavallie said Public Financial Management should be improved, and that the government, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and partners should work towards institutionalizing the tracking of audit compliance by developing a digital tracker for all MDAs to see in real time the progress they are making to address audit recommendations.
It was recommended that Government’s should consider conducting quarterly stringent internal audits for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs), and local councils to help enforce adherence to sound public financial management practices and minimise defaults.
Lavallie holds the view that to increase uptake of audit recommendations, government should consider incentivizing civil servants and politicians that are champions of audit compliance.
“Individuals in ministries such as Transport and Aviation should be recognised through a national awards programme, for consistent progress in audit compliance. GoSL should also consider punitive action against public officials who fail to implement audit recommendations and submit supporting in a timely manner documents during audits,” Lavallie said.
He cited that the Anti-Corruption Commission is doing a commendable job to recover cash loss, adding that more needs to be done to block the systemic leakages cited in annual audits that continue to provide a conducive environment for corruption to occur.
“CSOs should also consider expanding involvement in audit issues beyond popularising audit reports to include public expenditure tracking, and fiduciary risk analysis of key sectors and service delivery tracking,” Lavallie said.
By George M.O. Williams