The University of Ghana (UG) has firmly rejected allegations of discrepancies highlighted in the Auditor-General’s recent payroll audit report.
The report claimed that the university had overstated its employee compensation by GH¢59.2 million. In response, Prof. Samuel Simpson, Acting Deputy Internal Auditor at UG, characterised these assertions as misleading and lacking essential context.
In an interview with Myjoyonline, he remarked, “The numbers alone don’t tell the full story.” He elaborated, “There are processes and engagements behind these figures that the Auditor-General’s report fails to capture. To suggest that the university has overstated employee compensation is simply incorrect.”
The university insists that what the auditors identified as “overstatements” were, in fact, legitimate allocations of internally generated funds (IGF) used to complement government payroll contributions. Prof. Simpson illustrated this point with an example: “If the Government of Ghana decides it can only fund two staff members for the University of Ghana, but the university requires five staff to ensure quality education for our students, then the university may use its own IGF to cover the additional three. Would you consider that savings? It is not savings. Is it wrong for a university to be transparent and inform the Government of Ghana that while they have budgeted for a specific number of staff, we have mobilised IGF to ensure we can deliver the required services? To label this as payroll fraud is misguided. University management will address this matter in an upcoming statement.”
Prof. Simpson emphasised that the university has meticulously documented all related expenditures. “There are numerous aspects that the auditor’s report does not take into account. The processes and engagements involved, from inception to completion, demonstrate that the university has not engaged in any payroll fraud, as alleged in this report, which claims that we have overstated employee compensation.”
He confirmed that UG management will issue an official statement clarifying their position shortly.
In the meantime, the Auditor-General’s report encompasses broader financial recoveries based on recommendations from reports spanning 2020 to 2023, including disallowances and payroll savings extending to December 31, 2024. Overall, the Auditor-General has flagged GH¢38.9 billion for recovery, of which only GH¢12.7 billion, approximately 32.6%, has been successfully retrieved.
