Internal Audits Unit

The Internal Audits Division's function is a critical element in the internal control system of the Department. The Unit primarily conducts systems based audits to test controls and compliance with the PFMA and government financial policies, instructions and procedures.

The Internal Audit Division is responsible for:

• Conducting independent reviews of the Department of Finance’s systems and operations
• Providing advice and recommendations for improving controls and performance.
• Coordinating the formulation of non-tax revenue budgets.
• Conducting special investigations into anomalies and irregularities on behalf of the Department of Finance.

The Internal Audit Unit comprises:

• Southern Region and Department of Finance
• Highlands Region
• Momase Region
• New Guinea Islands Region

Operating Environment

The key issues and challenges that the Unit is facing in providing efficient and effective services are:

1. Changing Technology – rate of change in technology is increasing and the Unit faces the challenge of keeping abreast of the changes in computer systems and controls and audit techniques relevant to computerised systems
2. Funding – efficiently using resources is critical to achieving adequate audit coverage of the geographically dispersed financial systems of the Department
3. Manpower – recruiting experienced and skilled staff is a continuing issue that the Unit faces
4. Decentralisation – decentralisation is a key element of government reform, decentralisation places a high demand on the Unit. Achieving audit coverage of all operations of the Department is more difficult with the widely dispersed provincial and district operations
5. Scope of Responsibilities – the Unit provides independent review of the Department’s systems and operations. The balance between auditing and conducting special investigations must be carefully managed to ensure sufficient Unit’s resources are devoted to the key role of providing independent review and recommendations on controls and performance. The involvement of the Unit in ‘in-line’ processing functions must also be guarded against as it may compromise the auditing function

View the Internal Audits Management Structure [pdf].