Pre-Independence
The antecedents of the Internal Audit Directorate can be traced back to the University College of Gold Coast founded by the Ordinance on August 11, 1948. As a government institution, it was the responsibility of the Auditor General of the Republic to carry out annual auditing of the accounts of the University. Under the leadership of Prof. A. A. Kwapong, Vice Chancellor, in 1963, Mr. E. S. Okunor, Principal Auditor, was assigned to the University as the first Assessor from the Audit Service. As the quantum of funding from the Government grew over the years, the Finance Committee approved the establishment of an Internal Audit Unit for the University.
Post-Independence
In October 1966, a formal search for an Internal Auditor was initiated. However, due to the specialist nature of the unit, and whilst the search was still on-going, the Auditor-General, assigned Mr. Osei on secondment to the University for a two-year period commencing 4th November 1966. On 5th January 1967, Mr. D. T Prempeh, a Senior Auditor, was assigned the task of establishing the unit under the supervision of Mr. E. S Okunor. With support from additional staff from the Audit Service and some University appointees, the team commenced operations as a fully-fledged Internal Audit unit.
Leadership
From its inception, a number of individuals listed below have headed the Unit in both acting and substantive capacities.
Directors of Internal Audit Directorate from inception to date
Year Name
1967 - 1970 Mr. O. T. Prempeh
1970 - 1973 Mr. J. K. Bentil
1974 - 1984 Mr. B. B. Lampte
1984 - 1991 Mr. Kwadwo Akowuah
1991 - 1992 Mr. H. W. Bonsoe
1992 - 1994 Mr. D. K. Kpodo,
1994 - 2010 Mr. F. P. K. Agbekoh
2010 - 2016 Mr. Angelo Habib
2016 - 2017 Mrs. Justina Anomanyo-Tsagli
2017 - 2020 Dr. Ibrahim Bedi
2020 - 2021 Dr. Francis Aboagye-Otchere
2021 - Date Ms. Sena Dake
The Evolution into a Directorate
In recognition of a growing mandate, and an obligation to protect public funds and to uphold the tenets of the University of Ghana, the unit was upgraded into a Directorate in 2005 under the leadership of Mr. F. P. K Agbekoh who steered the affairs of the Directorate until the appointment of a substantive Director in the person of Mr. Angelo Habib in October 2010. Mr. Habib introduced risk-based auditing and contributed significantly to the improvement of controls, carrying out governance audits and expansion of the auditable universe to cover affiliation audits and risk management facilitation. Mrs. Justina Anomanyo-Tsagli took over the Directorate in an acting capacity from 2016 and her led till March 2017 when there was a change management need for the Directorate.
From March 2017, Dr. Ibrahim Bedi acted as Director until August 2019 when he became the substantive Director under the leadership of the Vice Chancellor Prof. Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu. Dr. Bedi spearheaded the restructuring of the Directorate. He ensured the development of the UG 2019 Internal Audit Charter, the five (5) year strategic plan of the Directorate and contributed significantly to the development of the risk management policy of the University until his untimely demise on 2nd March 2020.
Dr. Francis Kwaku Aboagye-Otchere was appointed as the acting Director from March 2020 until May 2021 when Ms. Sena Dake was appointed as the substantive Director to date.
In keeping with the University’s vision, the Internal Audit Directorate aims to be an enabler in the drive towards meeting the goals contained in the University of Ghana’s Strategic Plans for 2024 and beyond. The Internal Audit Directorate is now serving as an active strategic partner in the University’s Management set up to add value to the governance, control, and risk management systems. The Directorate is required to serve the University community by upholding high ethical standards, providing assurance, advisory and consulting services and assisting Management to achieve its Corporate and Operational objectives. With an all-inclusive audit process, audit agility and operational efficiency in focus, new reforms for structural transformation are underway which are yielding positive results.
The 2019 Internal Audit Charter and the Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921) mandates the office to:
- appraise and report on the soundness and application of the system of controls operating in the covered entity;
- evaluate the effectiveness of the risk management and governance process of a covered entity and contribute to the improvement of that risk management and governance process;
- provide assurance on the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy in the administration of the programmes and operations of a covered entity; and
- evaluate compliance of a covered entity with enactments, policies, standards, systems, and procedures.