It requires investment in humans, systems, technology and institutional processes, and that transformation remains a priority,” he said.
Chira said the Office was paying bigger attention to communication, stakeholder engagement and the accessibility of audit reports during the time that strengthening mechanisms for following up audit recommendations issued to Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
The AuGF said audience resources must be regarded as a trust held on behalf of Nigerians, stressing that integrity, professionalism, independence and objectivity remained principal to Audit.
The Auditor-Universal for the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, says Nigeria’s Audit mechanism is gradually shifting from habitual compliance-based auditing towards operation, hazard-based and technology-driven approaches, noting that reforms have led to tackling financial leakages and improving auditing processes.
Chira said the transition would let Auditors to shift beyond identifying breaches of financial regulations to review whether society resources were deployed economically and efficiently and whether government received value for cash.
The AuGF disclosed this yesterday during the time that outlining working reforms at the Office of the Auditor-Overall for the Federation (OAuGF) and the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Nigeria.
On the influence of Audit, Chira said recommendations from the Office had contributed to changes in people financial reporting and the budget handle.
He cited measures requiring Ministries, Departments and Agencies to scheme stand-alone financial statements for audit ahead of consolidation, saying the technique strengthened the accountability chain and provided bigger assurance over the feature of government financial details.
According to him, the effectiveness of an Audit should lastly be measured by whether identified weaknesses are corrected and prevented from recurring.
“The genuine value of an Audit is not plainly the quantity identified in an Audit query, but the extent to which the findings manage to corrective measure, stronger systems and stronger administration of society resources,” he said.
He explained that the Office had continued to assist the capacity of its Auditors in Multinational Community Sector Accounting Standards, statistical evaluation, computer forensics and specialised Audit techniques.
Chira stressed, nevertheless, that the transition to technology-driven auditing required sustained investment in persons, systems and institutional processes.
“The transition is not something that happens overnight.
Source: MDAs must prepare financial statements for audit before consolidation — AuGF
