Ghana Audit Service Urges Accurate Reporting on Audits

  

The Ghana Audit Service has called on journalists to strengthen their understanding and interpretation of the Auditor-General’s Report to enhance accuracy in public reporting on governance and accountability issues.
Mr. Frederick Lokko, Assistant Director of Audit and Information Officer at the Service, made the appeal during a one-day media training workshop on the Auditor-General’s Report and the CitizensEye App. The session, organised by the ACEP-led coalition under the FCDO-funded project, “An Anti-Corruption Initiative for Enhancing Governance and Accountability,” aimed at deepening media knowledge of Article 187, audit processes, and tools for evidence-based reporting.
Mr. Lokko stressed that while the media plays a crucial role in Ghana’s democratic system, inaccurate interpretations, especially of cash irregularities often create misconceptions among the public. He clarified that in audit terminology, an “irregularity” simply means an action contrary to law, and not every cash irregularity amounts to misappropriation.
“Sometimes journalists pick headlines like ‘Cash Irregularities Hit GH¢25 billion,’ and the public assumes public officials have pocketed the money,” he said. “But some of these issues arise from transactions processed outside the GIFMIS system or other procedural breaches. These appear in monetary terms in the report, but it doesn’t automatically mean the funds are stolen.”
He urged reporters to always examine the full Auditor-General’s Report including recommendations, context and classifications before publishing stories, adding that the Auditor-General’s mandate does not include prosecution. Enforcement of disallowance and surcharge certificates rests with other bodies such as the Attorney-General’s Department and EOCO.
Participants were also taken through the various types of audits: financial, compliance, information systems, and performance audits. Mr. Lokko emphasised that performance audits, for instance, focus on the economic, efficient, and effective use of public resources, and often highlight real-world impacts of poorly executed projects rather than issues of theft.
He encouraged journalists to pay attention to what citizens experience on the ground. “Ghanaians may not always care about how much was allocated to a classroom block. But when it rains and the roof leaks, that failure affects them directly. That is the kind of information performance audits help us understand.”
The training introduced journalists to the CitizensEye App, designed to support evidence-based reporting and public participation in monitoring governance and anti-corruption issues. Mr. Lokko concluded by urging the media to adopt a more nuanced understanding of audit findings to avoid inadvertently misinforming the public.