ASSESSING THE PERCEIVED IMPACT AND THE STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY THE INTERNAL AUDIT TO BATTLE CORRUPTION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: A CASE STUDY IN THE ASOKORE MAMAPONG MUNICIPAL AREA

Abstract

Corruption is endemic in Ghana as it is in many African countries. It is as old as the country’s modern political history, but in recent times many Ghanaians believe the misappropriation of public funds for private gains has reached an unparalleled level. Corruption has overwhelmed the Ghanaian economy such that the populace chooses to now tolerate corruption rather than fight it. This research is aimed to assess the perceived nature of internal and some of the strategies that can be used through this internal auditing to address the issue of corruption in the Asokore Mampong Municipal Area This research use the mixed method using descriptive a case study research design. A purposive sampling method was adopted to select samples which consisted of all the staffs working within the Municipal Assembly making a total of 152 participants. A semi-structured questionnaire to gather essential information for the study. Data was analyzed by using SPSS tools such as standard deviation, mean score, frequencies and percentages. About 73.0% of the respondents believed the department of the internal audit was effective in the Municipality and among them, the internal audit unit aided in putting checks and balances in place in the disbursement of funds, proper installation of control measures, regular auditing and making recommendations and proper measures by the department of the internal audit. Again majority of the respondents said the internal audit structure promote consistency and objectivity in the fight against corruption. 17.8% of the respondents believed there has been biased several times in assessment of financial statement on the part of internal auditing staff in the Municipality. it was noted that the internal audit battle corruption through evaluation, keeping of accounting records, compliance to laws and regulations, protection of assets and prevention wastage of resources and checking budget implementation. Again, the processes the internal audit follows in exercising their duties in the Municipality were; following internal control procedures and free access to committees, documentation of all the internal controls in procedure manuals, proper quality control