INTERNAL AUDIT PRACTICE AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AT GHANA POST COMPANY LIMITED (ASHANTI REGION)

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Date
JULY 2015
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Abstract
Internal audit plays a vital role in the corporate governance process. The perceived poor internal audit practices mainly caused by lack of independence has resulted in sound corporate governance practices eluding the company; thereby leading to the abysmal performance of Ghana Post Company Limited. The study, therefore, seeks to ascertain the practices of internal audit and corporate governance at Ghana Post Company Limited, with specific attention to identify the Internal Audit procedures; assess the corporate governance framework; assess the role of internal audit practice on good corporate governance; and examine the challenges of internal audit and corporate governance practices in Ghana Post Company Limited in Ashanti Region. Adopting the purposive sampling technique, a sample size of five (5) respondents comprising, the Regional Head, the Regional Internal Control Manager, Regional Finance Manager, Head Postmaster and Kumasi District Manager of Ghana Post Company Limited, Ashanti Region was chosen; using interview guide as the main instrument for the collection of data. The findings of the study revealed that the corporate governance framework of Ghana Post serves as the source of the roles and powers of the Board that strengthens accountability mechanism and achievement of company goals; with the Board undertaking a formal and rigorous annual evaluation of its own performance and that of its committees. Again, the independence of Internal Auditors in Ghana Post are highly compromised since most of the time they are considered as employees of management, and hence the views of Internal Auditors’ reporting to the Board as merely a formality to satisfy corporate governance requirements. Also, the challenges encountered by internal audit of Ghana Post have made the department unable to achieve its target thereby exposing the company to a lot of risk as evidenced in the high level of embezzlement that the company has been experiencing in recent times. Also, the non-compliance of internal controls and the flaw in risk management by the board could not be over emphasized It is recommended that, the board and the entire management should recognize the important role internal audit play and if need be support them with enough resources to enable them execute their mandate. It is recommended that there should be strict adherence to the several independence guidelines of the Internal Audit to keep in mind when considering reporting lines for internal audit. It is recommended that the board/audit committee should have the final authority to review and approve the annual audit plan and all major changes to the plan.
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A Thesis Submitted to The Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology Business School, Kumasi, In Partial Fulfilment Of The Requirements For The Award Of a Master’s Degree In Business Administration (MBA)-Accounting Option
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