Effective Internal Audit As A Panacea To Efficient Local Government Administration

INTRODUCTION
Globally the role of auditing is being appreciated for its avowed operations and activities. Ihe 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 the management.
b. Appraisal Function: it appraises the activities of other. Example, reviewing the system of checking employee expense claims.
c. Management Service: Plans and controls work according to management policies, so that information used by the management is complete and reliable.
d. It is carried out skillfully and with due care.
e. The Findings, conclusions and recommendations are communicated promptly and efficiently.
He also noted that internal audit seeks for effectiveness, economic and efficiency. Effectiveness here: means achieving the program objective or goals.
Economy means operating at the lowest possible cost. Efficiency implies effectiveness in outputs, avoidance of accessory waste of resources.
Having known the definition of internal audit and its implications, It is seen that it plays a significant role in the efficiency of local government administration. However, as a group of the subject matter of this research work, explanation and highlights of local government and its administration shall be
attempted.
Several definitions have been put forward by authors and scholars on local Government, Okolie (2003), that local government is defined as “a unit of government below the central regional or state government, established by law to exercise political authority, through a representative cancel within a defined areas”.
The oxford advanced learner‟s Dictionary defines local government as the system of government of a town or an area by elected representation of the people who live there “or” an organization that is responsible for the government of an area”. Conclusively, for the purpose of this research work, the most acceptable definition of local government is that which is given by the guideline for local government is “government at the local the local level exercised through representative councils established by law to exercise specific powers within defined areas”. Local Government Administration in Nigeria, as defined by Okolie and Eze (2006:5) is “the administration of the grassroots at the local government areas by the Federal (National) or state government through the use of bureaucrats or an agency of either or both tiers of government”.