Local internal auditors are gearing up for the forthcoming continental auditors meeting due in April. The three-day African Federation of Institutes of Internal Auditors (AFIIA) conference will be held in Kampala, Uganda.

Rwanda’s Auditor General Obadiah Biraro said the conference provides an opportunity for local internal auditors to interact with peers, gain exposure and insight, especially as far as emerging trends in the profession are concerned.

"It is important for local internal auditors to participate in large numbers because such gatherings help find ways to improve professionalism among members,” he told Business Times in a telephone interview on Friday.

The conference, scheduled for April 6-8 at the Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, will be held under the theme, "Unity in diversity; One continent; One internal auditing profession”. It will be preceded by the workshop of leaders of auditors’ institutes in Africa and end with the board and audit committee workshop on April 8, according to media reports in Uganda.

The conference, the first of its kind on the continent, is expected to attract over 500 auditing professionals from across the world.

"It will bring together leaders of internal audit institutes and internal audit professionals from across the continent,” media reports added.

Uganda’s Auditor General John Muwanga and his counterparts from Kenya and Tanzania, and Mervyn King, the chairman of South Africa’s King Committee on corporate governance which produced King I, II and III, will address the conference.

Other keynote speakers include the auditor general of South Africa, as well as officials from International Institute of Internal Auditors, including its chairman Paul Sobel.

The meeting will discuss ways how internal auditors can improve governance, risk management and controls across the continent, among other issues.