18 Nov 2021

The rise in corruption cases, including cybercrime, has made it more important now, more than ever, for internal auditors to reintroduce corporate governance in organisations.

This was said Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Botswana president, Mr Icho Molebatsi during the official opening of the 10th annual IIA Botswana conference in Gaborone Wednesday.

Mr Molebatsi said the COVID-19 pandemic had triggered economic hardships in numerous companies and as such it was imperative that internal auditors adequately assisted such organisations in navigating the turbulent times that the country was currently facing.

“As an internal auditor you need to ask yourself what meaningful contribution are you making to the organisation that you work for. Remember that whenever something goes wrong in any organisation or ministry the first question asked is ‘who is the auditor’,” he stated.

Mr Molebatsi said it was for this reason, internal auditors needed to stand up and be counted as their roles were essential.

Moreover, he said the conference, held under the theme: Resilience and agility: Audit, governance and risk, was structured in a manner that would empower internal auditors to improve their offering to clients and to assist board members in asking the right questions and holding people accountable.

He added that the conference would also provide invaluable insights, networking opportunities and inspirational talks by internal audit professionals that would assist a modern day corporate professional in discharging his/her duties in a balanced manner.

For his part, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) representative, Mr Tsholofelo Bareetsi said the country’s corruption trends were on the increase, particularly administrative types of corruption.

Mr Bareetsi indicated that abuse of power, conflict of interest and money laundering were areas of concern and that there was a need to continue to enhance collaborative partnerships with relevant stakeholders both in the public, private and civil society to fight corruption.

Furthermore, he stated that ethics and integrity were vital in combating corruption hence, internal auditors were needed in every organisation to detect and deter wayward behaviour.

Mr Bareetsi further highlighted that the fight against corruption should be seen to begin from the leadership angle in terms of a political will, good governance and promotion of integrity and good ethical behaviour.

“Corruption is a product of leadership failure, and by leadership here I mean not only at the top of the hierarchy with a capital L but also in a more modest sense throughout the organisation, hence ethical leadership demands accountability both horizontally and vertically, especially enforced by internal auditors,’ he said. ENDS