The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, has appealed to auditors to use their profession to fight embezzlement of funds and corruption in government.
He said that the power to check the vices largely lies with the auditors as is dictated by their profession. Oulanyah made these remarks while launching the 14th Annual National Internal Audit Conference under the theme, “Recognised, Valued and Trusted” at the Commonwealth Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala.
The conference runs from 22 to 24 May 2019.
The Deputy Speaker noted that the theme, as a reflection of the discussion, should be upheld because it identifies the significance of auditors in contributing to the value chain in service delivery.
“You play a pivotal role in auditing the procurement processes in various institutions. An auditor is the final person to vet procurement processes, certification of expenditures and verifying every other process in service delivery,” he said.
He, however, raised concern over the glaring mistakes that arise in service delivery that expose the gap in auditing. “How is it possible that the three sets of auditing processes that is; internal auditing of procurements and expenditures and the external audits fail?” Oulanyah asked.
He added that the major part of the problem is the fact that the money being wielded and handled in these processes is colossal and therefore tempting.
“You are tempted to be included in these kinds of deals in order to make a lot of money even when it is erroneous simply because most of the time you can get away with it to appease your desires,” Oulanyah said.
The Deputy Speaker added that the burden and onus is on the auditors to control mismanagement of funds in government because they have the final word.
“You have the power to say no, turn down that unjust kickback and save the country money by changing the pattern of doing things. We need a change in the hemorrhage of public resources that our country suffers,” he added.
Oulanyah further noted that with auditors properly executing their duties, there would be an improvement in roads, health services and other public facilities.
Walter Okello, President of The Institute of Internal Auditors of Uganda, encouraged colleagues to reskill and improve the services they offer.
“As auditors, we operate in an environment that is highly competitive with evolving technology and the risk based approach we employ is becoming a practice of the past. We must reskill,” he added.
