Auditing Government Institutions in Zimbabwe Frameworks, Processes and Practices

Abstract

Public Audit Offices are the guardian of the national purse and the pivot of the system of parliamentary control over finance. They help to institutionalize and nurture a culture of accountability, integrity, legitimacy and value for money in the conduct of public business. This in the long term serves as antidotes against institutional corruption. Study findings indicate that Zimbabwe’s audit systems are in the main consistent with regional and global experiences. Efforts are being undertaken to reconstitute and strengthen legal frameworks governing public auditing. Notwithstanding this, legal frameworks did not go deep enough to strengthen the independence of supreme audit institutions. Appointment, funding and reporting frameworks still have peeling effects on the operational independence of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Scenarios aground also suggest that the political will to comply with extant frameworks is low note. Audit recommendations are not seriously taken by Treasury, Accounting Officers and government ministers. There is need to update legal and regulatory frameworks to strengthen the operational independence of the C&AG and also to give it sanction powers to compel Ministries and departments to observe and comply with the Treasury Instructions and other regulations regarding submissions of returns. Efforts should also be directed towards capacitating the C&AG in term of attracting and retaining skilled and experienced staff in the legal and accounting field.