Auditor-General to track audit recommendations as GH¢280.5m in surcharges remains unpaid

The Ghana Audit Service plans to launch an online tracker in October 2026 to monitor the implementation of audit recommendations. The tracker, created by the Audit Service itself, will display which recommendations have been executed, those still pending, and the reasons behind any delays. It will also outline the recoverable amounts found, pursued and recovered, as well as any corrective, administrative or disciplinary actions taken.

Auditor-General Dr Pamela Graham made these remarks at the launch of the 2026 financial year audit in Accra. Dr Graham highlighted that the tracker would also highlight weaknesses in public institutions that continue to put public funds at risk. She emphasized that an audit report is merely the starting point, not the conclusion of action.

A significant issue currently pertains to the accumulation of GHC280.5 million in surcharges stemming from audit reports that remain unpaid. The Speaker of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Abena Osei-Asare, noted that approximately GHC57.2 million of this amount has been collected through the Auditor-General’s recovery accounts since 2022.

The 2025 audit reports on ministries, departments and agencies revealed financial irregularities totalling about GHC5.2 billion, with GHC4.8 billion linked to tax irregularities. Dr Graham mentioned that the Audit Service has recovered GHC17.6 billion and saved the nation around GHC11.7 billion in erroneous payments. To enhance their operations, the Service plans to integrate data analytics, forensic tools, and artificial intelligence, all subject to proper controls.

In instances where data permits, the Service intends to transition from analyzing limited samples to examining entire populations. Additionally, a correspondence management system will be implemented to manage submissions from audited entities. The Auditor-General also outlined five key focus areas for the 2026 audit cycle: continuous engagement, timeliness, technology, people, and impact.

She reminded covered entities that they have a six-month deadline for submitting reports to Parliament under Article 187(5) of the 1992 Constitution. Dr Graham reiterated her authority to exercise powers of disallowance and surcharge when expenditure is discovered to be unlawful. Individuals facing surcharges will receive a notice of intent and 14 days to respond.

If the response is unsatisfactory, a disallowance and surcharge certificate will be served, with copies distributed to the relevant institution and the Attorney-General. The person surcharged will then have 60 days to appeal the amount. Dr Graham emphasized that every cedi lost due to weak controls, unlawful expenditure, inefficiency, or failure to act is cedi that could have been directed towards vital sectors like education, healthcare, infrastructure, and social protection.

To deter misappropriation, the Presidential Advisor on the National Anti-Corruption Programme, Professor Francis Dodoo, urged the Audit Service to set surcharge rates higher than the potential returns misappropriated funds could generate. He provided an illustrative example where a misappropriated GHC10 million, discovered two years later, would yield only GHC5.6 million in interest at current Treasury bill rates.

Dodoo referenced figures indicating that Ghana lost GHC100 billion through financial irregularities over six years, with annual losses increasing from GHC8.8 billion in 2023 to GHC18.4 billion in 2024. Around a quarter of these losses, he stated, were cash irregularities, while GHC8.1 billion in expenditure claims were rejected by the Auditor-General due to fictitious debt.

Dodoo urged the Audit Service to disclose the corresponding figures for 2025 and cautioned against leniency towards offenders, arguing that shielding wrongdoers damages public trust.