Office of the Auditor General Weighs in on 2019-2020 Public Accounts
The Government of Montserrat has been issued with a qualified opinion on the 2019-2020 Public Accounts by the Office of the Auditor General…OAG.
Acting Auditor General, Marsha Meade determined that the Statement of Fixed Assets, as presented, is materially misstated.
It was also reported that that some expenditures were incurred without the authorization of a warrant provided by the Minister as mandated by Section 24 of the Public Finance Act.
The Audit of the Public Accounts of Montserrat 2019-2020 was presented in the Legislative Assembly on Tues day.
According to report the list of arrears of revenue contains significant amounts that are deemed to be uncollectible.
Additionally, without modifying the opinion, the Acting Auditor General drew attention to the fact that a significant principle of government accounting is that a Government should implement a balanced budget.
For the 2019-2020 fiscal year, recurrent expenditure exceeded recurrent revenue by $2.48 million.
Given the findings, a press release by the OAG, says it is pleasing that there continues to be improvement in the reporting by the Accountant General and by extension the Treasury Department in meeting the requirements of the Public Finance Act.
However, of growing concern, is the fact that the majority of statutory agencies and state-owned enterprises continue to have audits of their accounts long overdue, some as far back as fiscal year 2014-2015.
Additionally, the OAG continue to encounter occasions where responses to queries for adjustments to accounts take an inordinately long time by some entities.
The press release says government of Montserrat inject large sums of money into the operations of these entities each year.
By law, these entities are required to compile their financial statements annually, and to submit them for audit within 3 months after the close of their financial year.
These years-long gaps in accounting and/or audited reporting greatly increase the likelihood of errors, omissions, fraud, and of malfeasance, all ultimately at the tax-payer’s expense.
It says urgent attention is needed to correct these serious and prolonged breaches of regulatory and statutory requirements.
The Acting Auditor General made a series of other recommendations including further improvements in financial management, governance and internal controls to make for a stronger, more efficient and effective public sector.
Ms. Meade expressed appreciation to all those who contributed to the work involved, including former Auditor General Florence Lee.
More information about the report can be obtained by visiting the Office of the Auditor General Online Publications at http://audit.gov.ms , their Facebook page or viewing a hardcopy at the Montserrat Public Library.