Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has raised concerns over financial irregularities amounting to GH¢5.2 billion, including GH¢4.8 billion in tax infractions identified in the 2025 audit report.

Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee on October 6, Chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Abena Osei-Asare, said the scale of the tax-related irregularities requires the Committee to establish what action has been taken by the relevant tax authorities.

“We see a reported financial irregularity of five point two billion. But the most alarming thing is the tax infraction of four point eight billion.”

She said the Committee will seek answers on how the tax authorities have responded to the findings and whether measures have been taken to remedy the situation.

“And so we will seek to find answers and see how best our tax authorities have been able to remedy this situation.”

The Committee is also raising concerns over the recurrence of similar audit findings involving public institutions from year to year.

Ms Osei Asare said repeated findings involving the same institutions suggest that previous audit recommendations may not have resulted in sufficient corrective action.

“A legitimate concern of the Ghanaian public is that many audit findings appear year after year.”

She said when the same institution is repeatedly cited for the same control failure, the issue goes beyond the audit finding itself.

“If the same institution is cited repeatedly for the same control failure, then we are no longer dealing with just audit findings, we are dealing with a failure to learn.”

According to her, repeated infractions point to a failure by some ministries, departments and agencies to adequately address weaknesses identified in previous audits.

“If it happens repeatedly, then we are no longer dealing with audit findings, but the ministries, departments or agencies’ failure to learn.”

Ms Osei Asare said the Committee intends to adopt a different approach in its engagements with institutions cited in audit reports.

She explained that institutions appearing before the Committee should be prepared to demonstrate what has changed as a result of previous audit findings.

“So that is what auditees should be telling us. What changed or what has changed as a result of the audit?”