STATE AUDITOR-GENERAL OFFICE HOLDS 14TH ANNUAL AUDITORS RETREAT
The Office of the State Auditor-General recently held its 14th Annual Auditors retreat at the Lakowe Lake, Golf and Country Estate, Ibeju-Lekki with the theme: “Renewing Trust in Governance Through Performance Audit”.
While declaring the retreat opened, Special Guest of Honour and Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa said the theme of the retreat is apt considering the demand from the public for transparency and accountability in governance, highlighting efforts of the office of the State Auditor-General so far in auditing the accounts of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Lagos State.
He said, “As the theme connotes, renewing trust in governance through performance audit will assist the Auditor-General’s Office to examine how effectively and efficiently the MDAs are working and whether the MDAs are complying with the statutory obligation on any act or omission that might waste public resources, and performance audit was among the many responses to such demand”.
Obasa, represented by the Chairman of Public Account Committee of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Kehinde Joseph, said with the law in place, the Office has been placed on a first-line charge and given necessary powers to effectively discharge its functions by creating strategies for flexible processes and agile personnel and also develop a capacity for foresight and anticipating change. This, he said, will keep the office in good shape to navigate turbulent times and disruptive change.
He, therefore, enjoined participants and professionals to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of performance auditing during and after the preparation of the audited accounts of MDAs in Lagos State.
The Lagos State Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Bode Agoro, ably represented by the Board Secretary, Lagos State Housing Board, Mr. Abdul-Rafiu Fashola, said as Auditors, they are expected to always adhere strictly to working within the confines of the code of ethics of the profession which are integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, confidentiality and competency.
He urged participants to feel free to ask questions, interact with one another, share knowledge and most importantly, network, engage and exchange ideas during the retreat, bearing in mind that the present administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu is fully committed to continuous capacity building of its workforce.
In her remarks, the Chairman of the Audit Service Commission, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Adegbuyi-Onikoyi said renewing public trust through performance audits shows the importance of Auditors to the system.
Auditors, she said, have to perform creditably well for others to have confidence in the state where they audit because people depend on their audited reports, adding the performance of their functions is equally used in the high rating of Lagos State.
Adegbuyi-Onikoyi, therefore, implored participants to see themselves as essential in the business of Lagos State as their job upholds the confidence people have in the assessment of the State.
Earlier, the Lagos State Auditor-General, Mr. Moshood Adewuyi said the retreat aims to prepare Auditors who will function effectively in compliance with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Agenda.
According to him, performance audit typically tests if a government is making judicious use of available resources to effectively deliver its policy and goals while also achieving its intended impact. Such audits intend to examine the implementation of policies, programmes and projects, and whether they have been effectively, economically and efficiently realised.
He further outlined some of his Office achievements, including the completion of 187 MDAs statutory audit for the year ending 31st December, 2022 within five months; audited and producing the State Audited Financial Statements for the year 2022; installation of Arbutus Software – an analytical tool which aids in querying the payroll and HR Database every month, among others.