Tanzania: Keep Off Auditors’ Work, Heads of Parastatals Told

FINANCE and Planning Minister, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba yesterday urged heads of parastatals to refrain from influencing Internal Auditors, insisting that the cadre ought to discharge their duties without fear or factor.

According to Dr Nchemba, auditors are duty-bound to provide independent and objective evaluations of company financial and operational business activities, without getting influenced or threatened by heads of institutions and parastatals.

“I urge internal auditors to be more courageous and tread carefully while doing their work, they shouldn’t, in any way, be cowed by the threats of their bosses,” maintained the Finance and Planning Minister, while fielding questions from journalists after opening the Internal Auditors General Meeting here yesterday.

Dr Nchemba acknowledged that the cadre was being subjected to threats from heads of organizations, further calling upon such bosses to let the internal auditors work independently.

“The government has allocated a huge chunk of money on strategic projects, if the internal auditors aren’t independent then such money would go to waste and projects will definitely get compromised,” he observed.

While receiving annual financial reports in March, this year, President Samia Suluhu Hassan challenged the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) not to water down his reports, instead telling the whole truth as it was.

“Don’t mince words, be as open as possible … If a certain parastatal isn’t doing well, say so; if a board is underperforming, tell us,” declared the president.

Speaking yesterday, Dr Nchemba insisted that Internal Auditors in Tanzania had a key role to play in a country’s development, thanks to their role of serving as the eyes and ears of the company’s senior leadership and board of directors.

On her part, a committee board member with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Christine Victoria Mbonya, disclosed that misappropriation of funds and bad procurement processes were the major frauds they were currently grappling with.

“These are the common fraudulent practices that we normally come across, but with the President’s assurance, we are hopeful that we will address them,” she said. Such crimes were a clear indication that something has gone amiss in good governance and transparency, according to Ms Mbonya.

The IIA Committee Board Member further assured that the internal auditors in the country will continue to help their organisations accomplish their objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.

“Which is why we had approved the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) as a guide to the auditors,” she added.

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