Internal audit not just about 3 quotations: Tax commissioner
In his speech, he said people had to change their perception of the functioning of the audit.
By
Ahmed Mizyal
Commissioner General of Taxation Fathuhullah Jameel said on Wednesday that the task of internal audit is not only to see if the finance rules are followed and whether the three quotations were met while buying something, but that it should be done more extensively.
Speaking at the State Internal Audit Conference organised by the Ministry of Finance at Dharubaaruge on Wednesday and Thursday, Tax Commissioner Fathuhullah said that one of the things that is commonly heard while talking about whether the state's finance rules are being followed and that this conversation ends with checking if three quotations have been met while buying something.
"The work of internal audit is much broader than checking if three quotations have been met when buying something. It should be noted that it is useful and value-added," Fathuhullah said.
In addition to just checking if the quotation is met, he identified things that he believed should be done by audit functions:
-
Does the job require quotations?
-
Do you divide what you need to do by bidding for the purpose of getting quotations and working?
-
Whether the quotation was obtained in the best interest of the state and the institution?
-
Does the job really need to be done?
-
Whether you take quotations from the same people when buying anything for the office or seek a service, and see if things are structured in that office in such a better way?
"If the work can only be completed by getting quotations all the time, we cannot reach the value-added system that we are talking about. It's important to look at work in a way that can add value in a much broader way," he said.
In his speech, he said people had to change their perception of the functioning of the audit.
"If any audit is being done, a lot of people feel that the audit is trying to find faults and hold someone guilty for it. Or to point out what has not been done and find a way to blame," Fathuhullah said.
"[Internal audit] It is a fact that both those running offices and internal audits need to recognise that internal audit is an important part of the work, to help you reduce the chances of making mistakes at work and accept, acknowledge and cooperate with those who are your defenders to point it out when something is left out."
If the work can only be completed by getting quotations all the time, we cannot reach the value-added system that we are talking about.
According to Fathuhullah, internal auditors and audit offices also need to make efforts to change people's perception of the auditor.
"Auditing, rather than being done to find fault with an office, needs to be seen as an important factor in improving the functioning of an office by highlighting the wrong things that happen within the office and unintentionally," he said.
