SI GOVERNMENT HAS NO CONTROL OVER MANAGEMENT OF ITS RESOURCES: REPORT

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OFFICE of the Auditor General (OAG) says government has inadequate control over the management of its resources. 
 
In its 2019 report into the 2015 SIG National Accounts, a gross revelation was made by the report, pointing to lack of accountability and transparency in the financial affairs of the government.
 
It was reported that problems were so significant in many Ministries that the Auditor General was unable to form an opinion on the annual financial statements.
 
The AG received two sets of annual financial statements of the SIG for the year 2015 and has issued a disclaimer of opinion on the said financial statements. 
 
The main issues the OAG highlighted were:
  • Financial statements not comply with IPSAS cash mandatory part 1
  • Statement of receipts and payments disclosure incomplete
  • Non consolidation of its controlled entities into the SIG financial statements
  • Statement of comparison of budget and actual amount lack explanatory notes of material variances
  • Non-compliance of PFMA Section 77 (h) and (i)
  • Statement of arrears of revenue is materially understated - significant amount of revenue arrears are not fully accounted for and disclosed in the AFS
  • No reliance over the balance sheet at the year ended - OAG noted that for year 2015, SIG spent $695m on non-current assets, however that value was not disclosed for the year
  • License fees and other receipts have material variance - OAG noted that license and fees have variance of $77m and other receipts variance of $78m. NO explanation provided for material differences
  • Lack of supporting document to confirm budget support
  • Main SIG bank accounts not reconciled (issue of 2014 not resolved)
  • No explanation for material increase in salaries and other benefits
  • Files not properly kept by payroll section - OAG was unable to extract details or place reliance on the total payroll cost worth $989m as files containing supporting documents were not kept properly
  • Suppliers and consumables payment vouchers not located
  • Unable to verify training cost incurred by SIG
  • All government agencies fail to register all assets and stores
  • Lack of segregation of duty over AX financial system 
 
The primary objective of the report was to obtain reasonable assurance whether the 2015 Financial statements were materially correct and include adequate disclosures.

ENDS//

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