Assessment of internal control practices at St. Dominic Hospital, Akwatia at Denkyembour District - Eastern Region

Abstract

The study sought to assess the internal control practices in areas of responsibilities of internal control setting, implementation and monitoring at St. Dominic Hospital (SDH). Good internal control practices positions an organization on high performance and boost the trust of both internal and external clients. St. Dominic Hospital is the biggest institution of Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and therefore selected for this study. The methodology employed in the study was administering questionnaire that serves as a primary source of data gathered. The sources of secondary data were SDH 40th and 50th Anniversary Celebration books, Management Report, Audit Report, Human Resource management policy, and Accounting, Treasury and Financial Reporting of Ministry of Health. Interview guide was also used to collect data. The researcher adopted simple random and purposive sampling techniques to administer questionnaires to 217 respondents. The responses were analyzed using ratio analysis, descriptive, frequency with percentages and the results were presented in charts and tables. The findings revealed that ST. Dominic Hospital has impressive internal control practices in place which has impacted on its performance positively. It is recommended that staff strength of internal audit should be increased and well resourced. Also the head of internal audit should report directly to Audit Report and Implementation Committee (ARIC) as management can manipulate or hijack of auditors’ reports.