- FG to Audit TSA, Management of IDPs, Others
The Auditor-General for the Federation, Anthony Ayine, on Tuesday said a performance audit of the Treasury Single Account was underway.
He said the audit, among other things, would assess the management of the account.
He also stated that the management of Internally Displaced Persons by the National Emergency Management Agency would be examined by his office.
Ayine spoke at the opening ceremony of the bi-annual conference of the body of federal and state auditors-general in Abuja.
He stated that the audit would also seek to determine the effectiveness of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria.
According to him, the audit is justified by the fact that the segments affect all Nigerians, adding that the management of the TSA, IDPs and SMEDAN had been subject of criticisms by members of the public in recent times.
Ayine said auditors had a clear responsibility to present timely, accurate and reader-friendly reports that speak directly to key issues affecting the public purse.
“I have seen so many examples of audit recommendations that are basically requests for further clarification to be provided by the audited entity. This is not good enough. We must ensure our work is of the highest quality and make concise and useful recommendation,” he stated.
Ayine noted that the impact of auditors could only be evaluated by the savings they were able to make for the government through recommendation as well as leakages identified, including losses prevented.
He called for the enthronement of transparency and accountability and push for better governance if the living condition of Nigerians must improve.
“I believe the quantification of the value we add to audited entities is very important and wherever we can, we should aim to quantify the value we add and the financial impact that we make,” the auditor-general added.
