Establish an internal audit Department – Sampson tells RDC

Apr 12, 2016 News

By Enid Joaquin
Charles Sampson, a councilor attached to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), has called on the Regional Administration to urgently establish an internal audit department, that is well staffed, with about eight or nine persons.
‘I think Mr. Chairman, with a budget of some $3B, it is high time that we establish as a matter of urgency, an internal audit department.
Noting that “bad practices” continue, he exhorted that such a unit be established to control what happens in the future, while taking stock of what would have happened in the past.
Sampson said that even if the region has an internal audit, he was not aware of who they report to. He added that such auditors do not report to “line Management’ in any institution.
“Our region needs a new department of internal audit. A lot of things that have gone wrong, in this region, could have been prevented if there was such a department, as every single activity would have been monitored.”
Sampson emphasized that establishing such a unit would “tell us” when things are going wrong-especially if you get the right people. “The department would be able to pick up situations which would not be picked up normally. And the department must report to the finance committee, which is headed by the Chairman of the region.
“All of the slackness that has been happening, they should be in a position to spot when things are going wrong and report so that corrective measures could be taken.”
He noted that all the “fancy” audits being done by the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) right now, if some of those organizations had internal auditors, some of those very discrepancies could have been picked up, and dealt with internally.
Sampson said that he is not saying that the external auditors are not needed, but that external auditors would come at specific periods, but that the work of the internal auditors would be continuous.
The internal auditors, he noted, would determine whether there are bad practices, and report them to the finance committee.
“We might not be able to eliminate all the bad practices, but at least we would be able to minimize them, because if bad practices are allowed to continue, they become the norm.”
Chairman Rennis Morian, who heads the finance committee, however said that the constitution of the RDC does not permit for an internal audit department.
“Constitutionally, we cannot establish an audit department.”
What we could ask for- if they have the staff, is to extend themselves to the regions.
But for us to have a Regional audit department, we will have to go to parliament and have amendments to the constitution.”
The Regional Chairman however noted that he was in support of all the RDCs having an internal audit department, with the necessary amendments. He said that it was a very good idea, and not a bad direction to go, but that one has to always stay within the ambits of the law.
Just last month Morian pointed to more discrepancies that were being uncovered at the RDC, even as some employees suspected of involvement in irregularities, remained on administrative leave, amidst ongoing investigations.
The discovery of several irregularities within the Works Department of the RDC, including false payment vouchers, had prompted investigations earlier this year.
This resulted in auditors from the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) being called in, as an investigation was launched.
Informed sources indicate that most of the discrepancies lie in the area of public infrastructure. Some of those discrepancies include overpayments for contracts that are either non-existent or have not been completed.

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Establish an internal audit Department – Sampson tells RDC

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