A Critical Examination of the Role of Auditing as a Means of Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Petroleum Revenue Management Activities in Ghana: Proposed Intervention

Abstract

Oil discovery by some nations has become a resource curse rather than a blessing due to misappropriation, mismanagement and corruption in the management of petroleum revenues due to abuse of political power by public officers in partnership with other stakeholders within the oil industry, national and international alike. Auditor General's Annual Reports, Reports of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and CSOs reports among other literature have established that public resources such as oil revenue are mismanaged. Weak institutions, Finance Minister's discretionary powers under Act 815, lack of political will, weak legal and policy enforcement regimes among others are to blame for the lack of transparency and accountability leading to corruption. The study establishes that effective auditing plays a significant role in exposing the weak links to ensure transparency and accountability to mitigate corruption, particularly corruption auditing is best suited for petroleum revenue management activities. The study provides that transparency and accountability for effective corruption control and oversight, auditing and enforcement requires a multifaceted approach, stakeholders such as Supreme Auditing Institutions, external and internal audits system, citizens active participation, PIAC and CSOs such as Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas (CSPOG) and Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), good political will by government, strong legislature and judicial system as well as the support of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) including Donors and multinational petroleum companies are all needed on deck to tackle successfully the monster called petroleum revenue misappropriation, mismanagement and corruption. And ensuring that the government, public officials and other stakeholders uphold to best practice when it comes to PRMA.