Contribution of internal audits on the effectiveness of procurement assignments in Tanzania’s Local Government Authorities (LGAs)

Abstract

The paper assesses internal audit effects on procurement in Local Government Authorities (LGAs). The data is from a structured questionnaire to 241 respondents from LGAs, Public Procurement Regulatory Authorities (PPRA), Internal Audit General office and the National Audit office. The study uses exploratory factor and multiple regression methods to analyse the data using STATA programme and finds that internal audit competencies, procedure and independence affect positively the contribution of internal audit to procurement by LGAs. Thus, the study recommends that internal auditors be exposed to different audit environments and implement strictly the Public Procurement Act (PPA). Employers should employ auditors with various skills. Auditors should know the procedure in PPA and the procurement cycle, which the entities have to follow. Lastly, authorities should enforce the auditors’ independence through providing sufficient resources for the internal audit functions, ensure the audit units access all information and discourage political interference in auditors’ work.