Corruption, lack of Audit Act, others bane of proper auditing – AuGF

Auditor-General for the Federation, Anthony Ayine, has identified corruption and lack of an Audit Act as the major challenges impeding auditing in the country.

Ayine disclosed this in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Information in the AuGF office, Rotimi Ajayi, yesterday in Abuja, during the 49th Conference of the Body of Federal and State Auditors-General, also identifying inadequate use of appropriate and modern technology as one of the challenges facing audit institutions. He said absence of an Audit Act tops the list of challenges currently facing the institutions in the country.

According to him, the existence of said Act would guarantee administrative and financial autonomy for the Office of the Auditor-General and enhance its efficiency and effectiveness, adding that the autonomy of the Supreme Audit Institution in the country remains a major challenge facing them.

Ayine also stressed the need to address corruption in the public service to enable the institutions live up to their mandates. Corroborating the AuGF, Chairman of the Body of Federal and State Auditors-General, Abdu Aliyu, asserted that the lack of autonomy of audit institutions remained an impediment to the growth of the body. Aliyu, who also is the Auditor-General of Bauchi State, added that lack of autonomy of the body hindered accountability and good governance in the country.

He explained that audit institutions would not live up to their mandates if the willingness of the executive and other stakeholders to accept and respond to external scrutiny in the management of public funds were lacking. He advised the auditors to continually adhere to the professional code of conduct guiding their operations, and conform to best practices to promote the ideals of a Public Sector Auditor.