THE ROLE OF INTERNAL AUDITING IN THE EFFECTING MANAGEMENT CONTROL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

The subject of this research investigation is the role and functions of internal auditing within the local government councils in Enugu State, specifically, this study has empirically investigated the present situation functions and problems of the internal audit department within the local government councils in Enugu. The major problem of the researcher was to find out their relevance to the to the effective and efficient performances of the local government areas. The research methodology in this investigation is descriptive approach, based an the answers to certain research questions. Data for the \descriptive analysis were generated through an empirical investigation of the activities of the internal audit department in Ezeagu local government area. The methods of data collection were interviews, direct observations and study of secondary materials. The major findings of this study are:- a. That Ezeagu local government area has an internal audit department. b. That internal auditing helps to know how well the policies of management were executed. c. That the duties of the internal auditor could be performed by either the accounts division or the external auditor who must be statutorily appointed. d. That all the internal auditors of the local government report to the auditor general, through the executive chairman of their local government areas. The conclusions of this study are: a. Management needs to know whether the report it relieves are accurate and adequate and whether its policies are being effectively translated into action in all sections of the local governments. b. It also needs to know whether staffs are being properly trained and that they understand the rules and procedures they are expected to follow.