The Role of Internal Auditing in the Fight against Corruption: A Case of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana

Abstract

This study focused on outlining the role of internal auditing in fighting corruption in Ghana, with the Ministry of Trade and Industry as a case study. The population of the study was made up of the workers at the Ministry out of which a total of fifty (50) respondents from the finance and audit departments were sampled using judgemental sampling. Primary data was thus collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. Data gathered was analysed using IBM SPSS and presented in frequency tables and descriptive statistics tables using statistical tools such as frequency, percentages, mean, regression values, and significance levels while data from interviews was validated and fine-tuned for the study. The findings indicate, there is an extent of inspection power entitled to internal auditors. This means that the internal auditors of the Ministry of Trade and Industry have some power vested in them to conduct inspections as internal auditors. Also, internal auditors are involved in designing internal controls of organizations which means they take part in designing internal controls governing auditing in their organizations and that they have some level of independence in administering their internal auditing activities with internal controls of their organizations. However, their work in the organization is generally affected by the methods of organizational power and hierarchy controls. These controls also influence the ability of the internal auditors to discover and to report corruption activities in their organizations. The study concludes that there are political and bureaucratic procedures in the Ministry that are intended to facilitate the works of internal auditors in the veins of accountability and transparency. Based on the results, this study recommends that government bodies, as well as policymakers, should formulate policies that will enable internal auditors to exercise more objectivity in administering their auditing activities. Finally, it is being recommended that readers and further researchers could use more than one organization to have a broader and well-balanced conclusion when conducting a similar study.