The Audit Service has organized a training workshop for selected staff to undertake the audit of World Bank funded projects across the country. The refresher training is intended at equipping the staff with the requisite knowledge to execute these special audits.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Auditor-General (A-G), Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo asked the officers to “pay attention to detail” in the exercise of their duties, encouraging them to be courageous in the discharge of their duties. He tasked the officers to always provide tenable evidence to support their observations.

The A-G stressed on the importance of team work in the conduct of audits urging the auditors to be open to suggestions even from junior members. He told the auditors to engage and maximize the potential of all team members and eschew personal interests. The A-G appealed to all to uphold the call “to serve God and Country” and stick to “principles, not personalities”.

A Deputy Auditor-General (DAG) in charge of the Central Government Audits Department (CGAD), Mr. George Swanzy Winful, noted that the essence of the World Bank projects audit was not only to vouch if monies had been spent with the appropriate approvals but also to ensure that value-for-money had been achieved on all expenditures. Mr. Winful therefore charged the auditors to go beyond reviewing project documents and undertake physical verification or physical inspection of projects to confirm their actual existence. He urged staff to always obtain evidence for work done from the audit entities.

Participants were taken through topics including the role of the Audit Service on the project management, audit planning and documentation, risk areas to consider as well as issues bordering on procurement, validation, and monitoring and evaluation. Auditors with prior experience in World Bank projects audits shared their experiences.

The facilitators for the training programme were the DAG in charge of CGAD, Mr. George Swanzy Winful and Assistant Auditors-General Messrs Samuel Nii Odartey Lamptey and Samuel Amofa.