EFFECTIVE INTERNAL AUDIT AS A PANACEA TO EFFICIENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Globally the role of auditing is being appreciated for its avowed operations and activities. The and Umeaka(2006:370) defined auditing “as a process carried out by suitably qualified auditors during which the accounting records and the financial statements of an organization are subjected to examination by an independent auditor with the main objective of expressing an opinion in accordance with the relevant terms of appointment purpose” they also noted that the objectives of auditing were grouped into two
a. Primary objective: the auditor (one who carries out audit operation) is to report whether the financial statements shows a „true and fair view‟ of the financial affairs of the organization during the period under review and s end date.
b. Secondary objective: This concerns the detection of frauds and errors and the prevention of frauds and errors
The crux of this research work however is based on internal Audit – which is a very important aspect of auditing, how the internal audit unit of the government can be made effective in order to assist in the efficient administration of local Government Areas (LGA). Internal Audit as defined by Chukwu L. C. (2011: 28) is “an independent appraisal of activity within the
organization for the service of accounting, financial and other business practice as a protective and constructive aim of management”. He further opined that, internal audit is a type of control which functions by measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of other types of control. Anosike. C. K (2009:29) noted that the primary objective of internal audit, is to promote utmost efficiency and security in conducting business, in our case, the business or operations of the Local government areas. Azubike (2005:83) enumerated the features of internal audit as follows:
a. Independence: it is carried out by independent personnel through appointed by the management.
b. Appraisal Function: it appraises the activities of other. Example, reviewing the system of checking employee expense claims.
