The Uganda Parliament has procured the auditing services of a locally based Ugandan Audit firm, M/s Kisaaka & Company Certified Public Accountants at a tune of UGX 255.6 million to audit the Office of the Auditor General for three financial years, FY 17-18, FY 18-19,FY 19-20.
M/s Kisaaka & Company Certified Public Accountants which is a Ugandan audit firm shortlisted by East Africa Online Tendering Network as among the 188 best audit firms in Uganda.
However, a meticulous preview of the Website of Kisaaka & Company Certified Public Accountants portrays no work done in the area for which the procurement department of Parliament has shortlisted them as the best evaluated bidders to audit the mighty office Auditor General as it’s the official mandated auditor of government sectors covering three past financial years.
Other than portraying a tag of eight areas of competence in financial accounting on their website involving Accounting, Auditing, Tax advisory Services, Business and Management consultancy, Taxes Accounting, etc. nothing is on their website detailing the scope of work they have done and that would give affair value as compared to the work of auditing the auditors of government whose capacity is far compared to the procured firm (M/S Kisaaka & Company Certified Public Accountants.
Whereas the Auditor-General is held to account by the Officers of Parliament Committee, which is chaired by the Speaker, and by the Finance and Expenditure Committee, which reviews Vote Audit the public, the ombudsman, donor partners and friends of Uganda who have an interest in the fight against corruption in Uganda need to know the grounds that the procurement department of parliament based on to zero on M/s Kisaaka & Company Certified Public Accountants as the best evaluated bidders to audit the auditor general.
True, the Officers of Parliament Committee appoints a private sector auditing firm to do an annual audit of the Auditor-General’s financial and service performance, however, the Parliamentary Commission best Evaluated Bidder Notice pinned at the procurement and disposal notice board need to be held with suspicious contempt like the website of M/s Kisaaka & Company Certified Public Accountants that holds no scope of their work done, the best evaluated bidder notice too of the parliamentary Commission holds no grounds justifying the why question.
The Auditor-General has an independent Audit and Risk Committee and is subject to many professional standards and periodic international peer review by their counterparts from overseas audit offices. Therefore prudence would require Parliament to make an international bide that calls for international, competent and proven audit firms to do the audit. This would cure doubt, brighten the dark cloud and clear the mist now hovers on the integrity of parliamentary commission and the procurement department of Parliament.
The hard questions on the audit of the Office of the Auditor General by Kisaaka & Company-Certified Public accountants:
The price quoted by the procurement department of Parliament for the Best Evaluated Bidder, speaks volume on the competence of the firm and what’s likely to be the outcomes of the report on the three FYs audited by the Auditor General.
The UGX 255.6 million, Parliamentary Commission price tag for M/s Kisaaka and Company-Certified Public Accountants, is just a kick-back that is given to an auditor in the Auditor General Chambers to conceal information or mussel a sensitive audit report in the offing implicating high profile officials in government involved the misappropriation of public funds.
Has any of you ever interested himself or herself in asking where an audit done by the Auditor General about Kalangala Infrastructural Services ended up and its whereabouts?
Why did the procurement department of Parliament present to the Parliamentary Commission for approval of a firm that presented the low cost price for a job involving spent trillion of tax payer’s money in mystery? Who were the brokers and who own M/s Kisaaka & Company-Certified Public Accountants audit firm?
The Auditor General is an employee of parliament; a cock can’t lose a case in a public court of cocks! He who pays the piper calls the tunes. The expenditure of Parliament in the eyes of a public court has always been in question! Independent thinkers are looking at the meager expenditure of Parliament for an audit of the AG as a mare ceremony and a still birth.
What are the Annual Audits of the Auditor General?
About 88% of the Auditor-General’s work involves carrying out annual audits of the financial and service performance information of public entities.
Each year, the Auditor-General’s appointed auditors and their teams audit each public entity’s accountability statements. Parliament requires different information to be audited depending on the type of public entity.
In carrying out the audit function, the Auditor-General’s staff and appointed auditors apply audit procedures set out in the Auditor-General’s auditing standards. These standards are based on the ethical and professional standards issued by the External Reporting Board, with additional standards that are unique to the public sector audit environment.
During an annual audit, the Auditor:
Examines a public entity’s financial statements, service performance information, and other information that must be audited;
Assesses the results of that examination against a recognized framework (usually generally accepted accounting practice); and forms and reports an audit opinion.
An annual audit provides a high, but not absolute, level of Assurance about whether a public entity’s financial statements comply with generally accepted accounting practice and fairly reflect its financial position and its financial performance for the period audited. The auditor evaluates the overall adequacy of all the accountability information.
The Powers Auditor General and the legal dilemma for a private audit firm to hold the AG accountable!
The Auditor-General has broad powers when carrying out their work, including:
- Requiring a public entity or any person to provide documents, information, or explanations;
- Requiring any person to give evidence;
- Examining a private bank account in some circumstances; and
- Entering a public entity's premises to obtain evidence.
Having laid down the constitutional powers of the AG, what powers Does M/s Kisaaka & Company-Certified Public Accountants have to provide evidence?
Is the hired firm going to take the AG’s formed opinions on sectoral accountabilities as evidence for work done for pay??
How is the Auditor-General funded?
The Auditor-General is funded, by the government through Vote Audit for outputs provided to Parliament, and from audit fees paid by public entities for annual audits, and other assurance work carried out by the Auditor-General '’s business arm.
Its Vision is to be an Effective and Efficient Supreme Audit Institution in Promoting Public Accountability.
And the Mission is To Audit and Report to Parliament and thereby makes an Effective contribution to Improving Public Accountability and Value for Money spent.
Its Core Values Integrity, Objectivity, Professional, Competence
