‘Accountability must not begin when Auditor-General knocks at your doors’ — Abena Osei-Asare

Madam Abena Osei-Asare (MP), a Board Member of the Parliamentary Service Board, has called for a stronger culture of accountability across Ghana’s public institutions, stressing that accountability must be embedded in the daily operations of institutions rather than begin only when auditors arrive.

She made the call at the 2026 Financial Year Audit Launch, held on the theme “Strengthening Accountability Oversight in Public Institutions: Building Trust through Collaboration and Action.”

According to Abena Osei-Asare, public institutions must take responsibility for safeguarding state resources by establishing effective internal controls and financial management systems before the Auditor-General begins an audit.

“Accountability must not begin when the Auditor-General knocks at your doors.”

She said effective accountability required collaboration among Parliament, public institutions, external auditors, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant enforcement institutions.

However, she cautioned that collaboration must not undermine the independence of the auditor.

“Our collaboration must never become collusion. Collaboration does not mean compromising the independence of the auditor. It means ensuring that accountability systems work from end to end,” she said.

She noted that the citizenry, management of public institutions and enforcement agencies all had responsibilities in ensuring that public resources were properly managed.

According to her, although institutions operate under different mandates, they must remain united around one objective: protecting the public purse.

Abena Osei-Asare also called for a transition from periodic auditing towards a system of continuous accountability, supported by technology and integrated government information systems.

She said information from financial transactions, procurement systems, payroll data, tax records and asset registers should increasingly be connected to enable authorities to identify anomalies at an early stage.

Such integration, she explained, could help identify problems before they become audit findings and financial losses.

“In our age, we should not be taking weeks until the end of the year to discover the financial failure that occurred in January,” she said.

She said the increased use of technology could therefore strengthen oversight and allow institutions to respond to weaknesses before they escalate.

The Parliamentary Service Board member said the issue of accountability went beyond accounting and financial reporting, stressing that it was fundamentally about public trust.

She noted that citizens paid taxes with the expectation that their money would be managed responsibly, while businesses fulfilled their obligations expecting public institutions to demonstrate the same level of responsibility.

“When accountability fails repeatedly, we lose more than money. We lose trust. And trust, once lost, is far more difficult to recover than money,” she said.

Abena Osei-Asare stressed that no single institution could build an effective accountability system on its own.

She said the Auditor-General, Parliament, the Ministry of Finance, external auditors, management of public institutions, civil society and the media all had distinct roles to play.

She called for stronger coordination based on clear mandates, credible information, institutional independence and decisive follow-through.

As the 2026 audit cycle begins, Abena Osei-Asare outlined three key imperatives for public institutions.

She urged institutions to get their internal controls right before the audit, provide the necessary evidence during the audit and act on audit findings after the audit.

“Before the audits, get the controls right. During the audit, put the evidence on the table. After the audit, act on the findings.”

She stressed that accountability should not end with the publication of an audit report.

Rather, she said, the process should continue until identified weaknesses are corrected, monies due to the state are recovered, responsibility is established and measures are implemented to prevent recurrence.

Abena Osei-Asare said adherence to these principles would strengthen public oversight, protect state resources and contribute to rebuilding and sustaining the confidence of Ghanaians in public institutions.

“That is how we strengthen oversight. That is how we protect the public purse. And that is how we earn and keep the trust of the Ghanaian people,” she said.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith