Commentary
By Mustapha Sulaiman Wai, CPA, USA.
The Sierra Leone Audit Service which is supposed to be the supreme independent auditing institution engaged on the front line in the war against fraud, waste, and abuse in government in Sierra Leone, is in appearance not only weak, but has also remained dormant for years in carrying out its responsibilities. Following recent developments in neighboring Liberia, I have come to learn how that country’s supreme government auditing institution – the General Auditing Commission (GAC) – headed by a young and assertive Auditor General, John Morlu, has changed the landscape of public sector auditing in Liberia – Sierra Leone’s neighbor with a common recent war history. Within three years the young man has built what has become a model auditing institution in the West African region and beyond. Under Mr. Morlu’s leadership, the Liberia GAC, the equivalent of the Sierra Leone Audit Service, has developed and trained a qualified workforce of about 150 professionals including auditors, investigators, and support personnel; built a state-of-the-art public friendly resourceful and informative web portal; completed and issued 25 audit reports including annual audit report on his country’s budget; and, initiated 30 audit engagements that are currently ongoing.
Personally touched by this development, I was inclined to look into what Sierra Leone’s supreme auditing institution is doing. My finding so far has not been impressive. All I have found is an armature website populated with empty placeholders bearing little relevant information and a couple of outdated audit reports including the most recent, a 2007 annual report on government accounts issued in March 2009 – 15 months after the end of the year under audit. Furthermore, based on the information available publicly, it is unclear who the Sierra Leone Audit Service reports to. This is coupled with the fact that little evidence is available to indicate collaboration and information sharing between the institution and its counterpart, the Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Commission.
Created by act of Parliament – Audit Act No. 7 of 1962 – and further empowered by the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and the Audit Service Act of 1998; Sierra Leone Audit Service in the capacity as an independent supreme audit organization is charged with the responsibility to conduct audits that support the government in meeting its constitutional responsibilities. These responsibilities include helping improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the government for the benefit of its citizens. Carrying out such mandate effectively requires Sierra Leone Audit Service to conduct comprehensive audits that provide relevant and reliable information to stakeholders including law makers and the public. Accordingly, the relevance and reliability of such audit information largely depends on its ability to be adequate, timely, objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, and fair. Currently, there is insufficient available public information to substantiate whether these responsibilities are been effectively carried out by Sierra Leone Audit Service. In accordance with acceptable international auditing standards, the scope of such audit services for a supreme audit institution should include whether agencies’ annual financial statements are fairly presented; funds entrusted them are being spent efficiently and effectively; programs and policies administered are meeting their objectives; internal control over their operations are designed and working effectively; and whether they are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
If the Sierra Leone government were to succeed in its war on corruption, independent public institutions such as Audit Service must be engaged relentlessly at the fore-front. Given what’s unfolding in Liberia, it’s evident that the Sierra Leone Audit Service can become extremely value-added in the government’s war on corruption and fight for public accountability. With commitment to attract investors and take its rightful place in the global market, Sierra Leone can no longer afford to have a weak auditing institution. In light of the above, I would like to recommend the following to Sierra Leone Audit Service:
* Increase the scope and number of audit engagements to include timely reports on financial statements, the effectiveness and efficiency of operation including the adequacy of internal control over such operation, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations
* Make available and easily accessible by the public the results of all audit engagements
* Periodically testify before Parliament on critical audit findings so as to aid in legislative considerations
* Proactively engage the Anti-Corruption Commission in a collaborative manner geared toward sharing information that substantiates instances of potential fraud, waste, and abuse
*Mustapha Wai, originally from Sierra Leone, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with over ten years experience in both private and public sector auditing and financial management including serving as Senior Auditor at Deloitte and Audit Manager at NASA.
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