Dr. Eric Oduro Osae
ERIC Oduro Osae, the Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), has asked the newly-inaugurated five-member audit committee of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to help the organisation to develop a robust risk management policy, to anticipate risks, ensure constant awareness of its risk exposures and put in place mitigating measures.
He asked the committee members to be guided by the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) to creditably perform their mandatory, supportive, and advisory roles, especially, in risk management.
“Under the law, the internal auditor is supposed to work with the audit committee to put things in order before the external auditors come. If they come and raise a number of issues, it means there is something fundamentally wrong with the internal control systems,” he noted.
He also advised the management of COCOBOD to make adequate resources available to the Audit Committee, so they can perform their duties timely and efficiently.
Peter Mac Manu, chairman of the Board of Directors of COCOBOD, assured the committee that the board will support the management of COCOBOD, which stands in readiness to work in harmony with them.
He acknowledged that such cooperation is essential for the proper administration of the assets of COCOBOD; ensuring that the organisation remains financially viable and continues to be a major contributor to the national economy.
“Internal audit is the ear, eyes, and the nose of management. So, management needs the assistance of the internal audit to be able to perform creditably,” he stated.
Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive of COCOBOD, thanked the members of the immediate past audit committee for the work done over the past four (4) years and welcomed the members of the new committee.
The Audit Committee is chaired by Christian Tetteh Sottie, a former Controller and Accountant-General of Ghana. The rest are Dr. Grace Bediako, a former head of the Ghana Statistical Service; Dr. Felix Kwame Aveh, a Development Finance Specialist and a Senior Lecturer at GIMPA; Hon. Kwadjo Asante, MP for the Suhum and Hon. Herbert Krapa, a Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.