Evaluating the effectiveness of internal auditing in the public sector. Evidence from ghana cocoa board (cocobod)
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Date
2021
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KNUST
Abstract
The study intends to evaluate the effectiveness of internal auditing in the public sector of Ghana. The study was motivated by continues mismanagement of public funds and assets, the rampant act of corruption and many more of which the Ghana Cocoa Board is not exempted. The population covered forty (40) internal audit staff, of which thirty (30) was sampled using convenience and purposive sampling techniques. A questionnaire was administered for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used for the data analysis. The study revealed that the internal auditors at COCOBOD are competent to deliver on their jobs. The study also reveals that an internal audit unit is independent to an extent. The study identified that the competency of the auditor and the independence of the internal audit unit has a significant positive relationship with internal audit effectiveness. Auditors perform an audit based on audit standards and report are timely. The study reveals that internal auditors have little knowledge of the techniques to follow up on their recommendation. The study recommends gender diversity to foster creativity, innovation, value addition and more importantly efficiency and effectiveness. Again, the study recommends that the reporting line for the internal audit is made clear to avoid any ambiguity that would allow the executive management to influence internal audit. The study recommends that an adequate budget is allocated to the internal audit department to ensure the smooth running of the department. The study was limited by, the internal audit staff not ready to give information and the lockdown due to Covid -19. The value of the study is to review existing debates, draw attention to new thinking about internal auditing and bridge the existing gap of internal auditing in our public institutions.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Accounting and Finance, School of Business, College of Humanities and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of Science Degree in Accounting and Finance.