WSSP INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION
Internal audit is an independent and objective activity, an organization that gives assurance as to the compliance of established control & efficiency of an entity operation, a guide to improve operations and contributes to adding value. Internal audit helps the organization to achieve its objectives by evaluating a systematic and disciplined approach to its risk management processes, control and management of the entity and making proposals to strengthen their effectiveness. The internal audit wing is directly responsible to the Audit Committee who oversee the affairs of the entity. “The internal audit function of Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) was first time established in December 2019, headed by Chief Internal Audit functionally reporting to Board of Directors through Audit and Risk Committee under the approved statutory framework as per the corporate governance Rules.
The department is operational with full motivation and devotion till date, the current strength of WSSP Internal Audit function is four headed by Chief Internal Auditor, supported by Manager Internal Audit and two audit officers. The internal audit function has huge impact on the control environment of WSSP operations and has numerous achievements since its inception.
The department works under the Approved “Audit Charter” and Approved Annual Audit plan.
The WSSP internal audit wing regularly keep an eye on the organization risk profile, identify risk, evaluate risk, implement control procedures and after assessing controls generate risk report and timely share it with management for timely risk mitigation. The audit team regularly pay visits to different WSSP facilities according to their already approved visits plan, generate and submit their reports to management for their prompt and timely action.
Besides, the WSSP Internal audit wing is also conducting pre-audit, post audit, Compliance audit, Performance audit, investigative audit, tax audit, and accomplish different inquiries referred by management and as per the Internal Audit attributes i.e., Purpose, Authority and Responsibility.
- Pre-Audit: – The Internal wing of WSSP regularly conducts a pre-audit of all payment files before payments as per the approved threshold from the audit committee, Including civil works, procurements, HR and Admin files, Operation expenditures, etc.
- Post-Audit: – The Internal audit wing also regularly conducts audits of all functions and activities as per the approved audit plan from the audit committee. The Internal audit wing conducts its risk-based audit, generates its reports, presents those reports in the Audit Committee meeting for discussion, notes down minutes of the meeting and audit committee decision, and then circulates to management for implementation of audit committee decisions including feedback.
- Compliance-Audit: – The Internal audit wing regularly conducts compliance audits with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, approved policies and procedure manuals to ensure the applicability of all these rules and regulations. In case of any deviation, the management is timely informed in the shape of an audit report.
- Performance-Audit: – The Internal audit wing of WSSP uses the Performance auditing technique to evaluate the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the WSSP operations so as to assure management that its strategic objectives are being carried out and whether or not they can be improved.
- Investigative Audit: – The Internal audit wing of WSSP additionally leads Insightful reviews to recognize current realities and conditions of conceivable misrepresentation or misappropriation of the WSSP resources.
- Tax Audit: – The Internal audit wing regularly checks whether WSSP as a taxpayer or as a tax agent has correctly determined the tax liability, deposited due tax in the national exchequer on time, and is making adjustments of input tax etc. to which WSSP is legally entitled.
- Inquiries: – The Internal audit wing of WSSP is regularly involved in all types of inquiries initiated by management, including reviews of inquiries conducted by third parties for transparency and fairness.
The internal audit department plays a vital part in the implementation of the “Anti-corruption policy” and “Whistle Blowing policy” of WSSP, it is a value-added function which ensures the efficacy of the financial reporting and efficiency of the operations, and also plays a very important role with respect to liaison between the government and statutory, commercial auditors.