60 offices fail to submit statements

Main Stories

AUDITOR-General Philip Nauga, pictured, says 60 public offices failed to submit their 2016 financial statements to be audited.
In the 2016 Auditor-General’s report tabled in Parliament yesterday, he said it continued a history of public entities failing to provide financial statements to his office.
“The report’s findings are consistent with those in my previous year’s reports that highlighted my concerns over the number of entities that do not submit current year financial statements for audit and the overall poor state of the financial management structure in most public entities whose statements are subject to audit and inspection,” he said.
Nauga said there were some weaknesses in the financial systems which ultimately affected the delivery of public service.
“Financial management in the public sector is the establishment and maintenance of policies, processes and procedures to achieve the objectives of the organisation,” he said.
“It consists of planning, organising, directing, monitoring and controlling the monetary resources of an organisation. Unfortunately, many organisations continue to indicate they are incapable of managing their financial affairs. Weaknesses with financial management are contributing to significant wastage of financial resources and indicate a serious lack of transparency and accountability.
“Ultimately, these weaknesses adversely impact upon the delivery of services to the citizens of Papua New Guinea.”