By Chris Chimezie
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Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has stressed the need for the integration of strategic policies and workplans by professional bodies within the bureaucracy for the advancement of good governance.

The Governor made this known while addressing members of the Conference of Local Government Auditors-General and Directors from the South West region of the country at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s office in Akure.

Members of the Conference who converged in Akure, the Ondo State capital were drawn from Lagos, Ondo, Ogun,  Osun Oyo and Ekiti States.

Represented by the Secretary to the Ondo State Government (SSG), Hon Ifedayo Abegunde, Akeredolu commended them for their efforts at ensuring that their reports are made ready ahead of time.

While welcoming the Auditors-General into the state, he congratulated them on the formation of the Conference in 2012, adding that it had afforded them the opportunity to interact more and share inspiring ideas which had further given the profession more recognition in the society.

Akeredolu hinted that delays in the submission of audit reports would result in poor implementation of the recommendations they contained.

He enjoined them to be timely in sending their audited reports for speedy consideration and implementation, saying all the reports, no matter how excellent, if not implemented will amount to a waste of efforts.

“I want to charged members of this Conference to do more in developing and strengthening themselves, so as to come up to speed with international best practices and standards in the audit profession.

“It is very important that you cooperate, interact and share experiences about best practices in the audit profession with a view to scaling up your performances the more”, he stated.

Earlier, the Ondo State Auditor-General for local government who is the host, Mr Olusola Daramola hinted that the Conference which came into being in 2012, was for the purpose of integrating opinions and policies of Auditors in the South West in order to ensure that the foundation laid by its forefathers were not jettisoned.

Daramola who stated that the meeting is biennial and holds in March and September of every year, noted that since the formation of the Conference, tremendous improvements have been imparted into the profession throughout the South West.

He boasted that during the last national conference, the South West states were number 1-6 in the Federation.

“After the commission of the Conference, we came together and that was when the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) was introduced throughout the Federation and we keyed into that policy.

“Throughout the South West, we took it upon ourselves to train ours staff in the local governments, because if the LG fails to submit their statement of affairs to us, then there would be nothing for us to report on, hence the need to carry them along.

“Again, in the South West, we are number one when it comes to IPSAS accrual. Our financial statement for 2017 has been presented alongside that of Lagos state and that of the other four states would be ready soonest.

“This conference has improved the rate of our job delivery and has also introduced us to new standard in auditing and accounting, thereby placing us in the forefront”, he said.

The State Auditor-general further maintained that the State was the first to prepare its statement in accrual method which is all-encompassing, comprising of all financial statements expected to be prepared by an Auditor-General.

The event was attended by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Olugbenga Ale, Finance Commissioner, Mr Wale Akinterinwa, Auditors-General and Directors from the six South West states.