Auditor General reports on the results of recent financial audits
Category : Press Releases 2014
The Auditor General, Alastair Swarbrick, made public today two audit reports on the results of his financial audits in core government and in the statutory authorities and government companies. The reports provide a summary of the audit opinions Mr. Swarbrick provided on the 2011-12 audits of statutory authorities and government companies and the 2010-11 and 2011-12 audits of ministries, portfolios and offices. The reports include, for the first time, the Auditor General’s assessment of the entities’ financial performance.
“Whilst I continue to see improvement in the timeliness and quality of the information being presented for audit,” said Mr. Swarbrick, “there is still much more work that needs to be done in order to restore accountability for the use of public funds as envisioned in the Public Management and Finance Law (PMFL).” While he is reporting on individual entities in these two reports, the Auditor General has indicated that he will be reporting on his audits of the Government’s consolidated financial statements or “Entire Public Sector Statements” in the near future.
In his reports, the Auditor General highlights continuing improvement in the reduction of qualifications he provided while pressing for government entities to improve on the quality of submissions in order to meet the 31 October deadline for reporting. In many entities, Mr. Swarbrick found significant weaknesses in governance and control frameworks leading to increased risks of mismanagement and abuse of public funds. In particular, the Port Authority, Tourism Attraction Board and the Cayman Islands Airport Authority are highlighted for their poor governance frameworks and poor performance. In the ministries, portfolios and offices, Mr. Swarbrick highlights a number of significant concerns about not only the quality of information being presented for audit, but significant deficiencies in the underlying governance and control systems government has in place to manage and report on how public monies are spent. In two ministries, Tourism and Development and District Administration, Works, Land and Agriculture, the auditors were still unable to carry out their required audit work because of poor controls and record keeping, highlighting a litany of issues that underline the need for more competent financial managers and for them to comply with the PMFL.
Mr. Swarbrick criticized the Government for failing to make public on a timely basis many of the financial reports issued during the period audited. “On many occasions the Government has not tabled the completed financial reports in the Legislative Assembly in a timely manner once the audits have been completed. When they have been tabled, many do not include information on their performance as required by the PMFL.” said Mr. Swarbrick. “By not informing the Legislative Assembly and the public about the use of public funds, it undermines the point of everyone working hard to make the statutory deadline for financial reporting.”
A number of the completed reports have languished for more than a year since they have been completed. For example, the Auditor General notes that there are still 10 annual reports for 2010-11 and another 14 for 2011-12 that have not been tabled in the Legislative Assembly, and are thus publicly unavailable.
More information regarding these reports can be obtained by contacting Martin Ruben at the Office of the Auditor General at (345) 244-3206. Copies of the reports are available at
www.auditorgeneral.gov.ky.