ERNews

The illusion of annual audits In many emerging economies, the annual audit has devolved into a ceremonial performance, executed more for formality than for its intended function. While its intent is accountability, its timing renders it toothless. Reports are tabled long after the financial damage is done. Mismanagement becomes history, not averted disaster. A 2022 AFROSAI report found that over 70percent of irregular expenditures flagged in state audits across Africa were never recovered. These documents, though thorough, often become quiet museums of avoidable dysfunction. Meanwhile, those implicated have often resigned, been transferred, or, in some cases, even been promoted. In Uganda, a 2020 audit uncovered irregularities worth over UGX 1.2 trillion, yet less than 15percent of the amount had been recovered or sanctioned by 2022. \xa0In many jurisdictions, the audit trails are cold before the ink is dry. When the purpose of the audit is politicised and the tim...