The Cocoa Marketing Company (Ghana) Limited (CMC) has inaugurated its newly constituted Statutory Audit Committee, with a call for stronger corporate governance, accountability, effective risk management and sustainable institutional performance.

The ceremony brought together members of management, the Internal Audit Agency, the outgoing and incoming Audit Committees, and officials from the Internal Audit, Legal and Finance departments.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director of CMC emphasised that the Audit Committee forms an important part of the company’s governance and assurance framework.

He noted that while CMC, as a commercially oriented state-owned enterprise, must pursue profitability and operational efficiency, its financial performance must be underpinned by sound governance, effective internal controls, transparency, accountability and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The Managing Director stressed that the Audit Committee should not operate merely as a fault-finding body. Rather, it should provide independent oversight and work constructively with management to identify weaknesses, address audit findings, assess risks and ensure that corrective measures address the root causes of identified problems.

Members of the newly constituted committee were formally sworn into office and took the Oath of Office and Secrecy. The committee subsequently elected Kwame Ampim-Darko as its chairperson.

In his acceptance remarks, the chairperson expressed appreciation for the confidence placed in the committee and pledged to discharge its mandate with professionalism, independence, integrity and diligence.

He said the committee would work to strengthen internal controls, risk management, credible financial reporting and compliance.

The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, in remarks to the gathering, described the Audit Committee as a critical component of the public-sector assurance framework.

He urged the committee to go beyond simply confirming whether audit recommendations had been implemented and instead examine the root causes of identified weaknesses and the risks associated with them.

He also stressed that good governance and compliance should be viewed as essential foundations for sustainable performance, noting that non-compliance could expose institutions to financial, operational and reputational risks.

The ceremony also recognised the contributions of the outgoing Audit Committee and marked the beginning of the new committee’s mandate.

The new committee is expected to strengthen CMC’s oversight framework and contribute to improved accountability, risk management, internal controls and sustainable performance of the company.