First In 20 Years — Former PMMC Boss Drops 2023 Audit Bombshell Amid GoldBod CEO’s Claims

Nana Akwasi Awuah, former Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), has responded to claims by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) concerning the company’s unaudited accounts, insisting that the institution underwent a performance audit by the Auditor-General in 2023.

Awuah’s response introduces another dimension to the discussion surrounding PMMC’s financial reporting and accountability, particularly as questions emerge about the company’s previous operations and the management of its accounts.

According to the former managing director, the Auditor-General conducted a performance audit of PMMC in 2023, marking the first exercise of its kind at the institution in approximately two decades.

The claim comes in response to comments by GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi regarding the status of PMMC’s unaudited accounts. Although the precise details of Gyamfi’s allegations were not provided, Awuah’s response appears intended to draw attention to the audit exercise conducted during his time at the company.

“A performance audit was conducted by the Auditor-General in 2023, the first of its kind in about twenty years,” Awuah stated, according to the information available.

His remarks raise questions about the distinction between a performance audit and the regular financial audits used to examine an organisation’s financial statements and transactions.

A performance audit generally assesses whether an institution uses its resources efficiently, achieves its objectives and complies with relevant operational requirements. A financial audit, by contrast, focuses primarily on whether financial statements fairly present an organisation’s financial position and comply with applicable reporting standards.

Consequently, the reported 2023 performance audit does not, by itself, establish that all of PMMC’s financial accounts had been audited or that any outstanding financial reporting concerns had been resolved.

Nevertheless, Awuah’s statement places the Auditor-General’s work at the centre of the debate and provides a point of reference for assessing the company’s accountability record.

PMMC has played a role in Ghana’s precious minerals sector, including activities connected to the purchase, marketing and export of minerals. Its operations have implications for the country’s mineral revenue, regulatory oversight and efforts to strengthen transparency within the gold trade.

The establishment of GoldBod has also brought renewed attention to the management and regulation of Ghana’s gold sector, making questions about the operations of its predecessor institution particularly significant.

The disagreement between Awuah and Gyamfi therefore highlights the importance of examining the available audit records before drawing conclusions about PMMC’s financial management.

For a clearer understanding of the matter, the scope and findings of the 2023 performance audit would need to be considered alongside the status of the company’s financial statements and any outstanding audit reports.

As the debate continues, Awuah’s account of the Auditor-General’s exercise offers a fresh element in the discussion, although further documentation would be needed to determine how it addresses the specific concerns raised about PMMC’s unaudited accounts.

Abaah Clement feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com