The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has revealed that government has made a decision to deal with auditors who engage in unprofessional conduct in relation to their work.
According to Ken Ofori-Atta , some auditors in charge of auditing jobs sometimes get away with unprofessional practices because no one audits their work when they are done, a situation he said leads to so many wrongs being buried upon the issuance of their reports never to be resurrected again.
He said this will soon be over after the inauguration of a new Tax Audit and Quality Assurance Unit.
Jointly inaugurated by Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the unit was inaugurated to deal with the issue of corruption in revenue mobilization in Ghana.
According to Mr Ofori Atta, the unit will also ensure a centralized audit planning process and guarantee quality auditing in Ghana.
Mr Ofori Atta explained that: “Some auditors in charge of auditing jobs sometimes get away with unprofessional practices because no one audits their work when they are done, so many wrongs are buried upon the issuance of their reports never to be resurrected again, and we want to change that.
“So there should be an audit to audit the Auditor concept. Once they know their work may be reviewed, they will not compromise on the integrity of their work.”
The Commissioner-General of the GRA, Reverend Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, also said the Unit will help the Commission improve revenue collection.
“If you as a tax Authority want to be able to wipe away the issue of corruption and integrity, it requires a definite, purposeful act to move ahead otherwise no matter what you do, we will not be able to get the needed result.
“Therefore GRA as part of our strategic direction aim at coming out with a definite action that will ensure that perception or the reality of corruption as far audit is concerned is reduced to a significant level in GRA. Our commitment to this course is absolute” he stated.