A parliamentary watchdog committee wants the law relooked to allow firms from outside the country to audit the Office of the
Auditor-General.
The Public Accounts Committee wants the Clerk of the
National Assembly to advertise tender to audit the Office of the
Auditor-General internationally, to avoid potential conflicts of
interest with local auditing firms.
The call by the committee follows the reluctance of local audit
firms to bid, citing a potential conflict of interest.
Members of the committee said Parliament should advertise
the tender beyond the boundaries of Kenya.
“This way, we will have more audit firms and it would not
feel like there is a conflict of interest when they are asked to bid to audit
the Office of the Auditor-General,” said Butere MP Tindi Mwale, who chairs the
committee.
Article 226(4) of the Constitution stipulates that the
accounts of the Office of the Auditor-General shall be audited and reported on
by a professionally qualified accountant appointed by the National Assembly.
While moving a motion to approve the appointment of PKF
Kenya LLP to provide external audit services for the Office of the
Auditor-General for the financial years 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and 2024/2025,
Mwale revealed that the committee’s investigation into the tender process showed
very few firms typically bid.
This time was no exception, with only two firms, PKF Kenya
LLP and Nelson and Francis LLP, submitting bids, with PKF Kenya LLP ultimately
winning the tender at a cost of Sh25.5 million.
“The apparent reason for this state of affairs has been that
most of these independent audit firms shy away from having been engaged by the
Office of the Auditor-General in other outsourced engagements,” said Mwale.
Funyula MP Ojiambo Oundo emphasized the need to explore
alternative mechanisms, even if it requires extending the tendering and
procurement process beyond the borders.
Oundo expressed concern that having only two firms participate in the bidding process, with one being disqualified at the technical evaluation stage, is absurd.