Financial irregularities among public boards, corporations, and other statutory institutions declined by GHS6.2 billion in 2023, the Auditor-General's report has disclosed. During the period ending December 31, 2023, the total irregularities recorded a decrease of 41.6 per cent (GHS6,260,178,686) from GHS15,059,441,806 in 2022 to total irregularities figure of GHS8,799,263,120, the report noted. The irregularities included outstanding debtors/loan recovery, cash, payroll, tax, stores, procurement and contract. The reduction in irregularities was largely due to the increase in the compliance level and implementation of audit recommendations by covered entities, Mr Johnson Akuamoah-Asiedu, the Auditor-General, said. He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the margins of the 2024 financial audit launch and Regional District Auditors conference in Accra, on Friday, August 16. 'The clients that we audit are now taking our recommendations seriously and have implemented some of the recommenda tions made in our previous audit, and that reduced the infractions,' he said. The Auditor-General, noted that procurement irregularities remained high during the period of the audit, but explained that, 'it does not necessary mean, the stealing of money, but the processes are not followed.' 'This is authenticated by the audit report, which indicated that 'with the exception of procurement and contract irregularities, all the other irregularity types decreased in 2023, compared with the 2022 financial year.' He called on the government to increase its support to the Audit Service to entrench its independence, saying, 'for the past four years, the government has been increasing our budget but more needs to be done.' Mr Akuamoah-Asiedu also called for collective effort to increase awareness on tackling the canker of corruption in public institutions, noting that the Service had deployed digital systems to improve its operations. Speaking at the event, Dr Stephen Amoah, A Deputy Minister of Finance, said, ' it's essential to collaborate with internal auditors to strengthen internal controls and ensure greater accountability.' While calling on all stakeholders to collectively work to ensure fiscal sustainability, Dr Amoah urged the Auditor-General to continue to exercise the power of surcharging and disallowances to reduce irregularities. He pledged the government's commitment in providing the needed financial assistance to make the work of the Audit Service more effective and efficient to engender reduction in irregularities and support national development. Mr Anthony Sarpong, a Senior Partner at KPMG, an auditing firm, encouraged the Audit Service to heighten its scrutiny of public accounts, apply sanctions, and pay particular attention to revering funds, in addition to uncovering irregularities. That, he said, played a critical role ensuring the effective management and safeguarding of public finances, while attracting more foreign direct investment into the country. Mr Sarpong asked public officers to h old themselves accountable, as they were the first in line to ensure proper management of public funds and urged the Audit Service to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their operations. Source: Ghana News Agency