Auditor-General outlines errors by department

Focus, Normal

THE litany of serious errors reported by the Auditor-General in 2001 continues the following year.
This included funds totalling K73,813,200 not being expended at all.
The salary of a terminated secretary of the department was still being paid.
There was no staff register and perhaps that explained why there were 21 staff members over the department staff ceiling of 104.
Other anomalies and defects reported included:  
* Bank reconciliation statements revealed a failure to record approximately K6.1 million;
* Bank statements and cash books for the drawing account showed overdrawn balances in a sum of  K8,967,774;
* Departmental expenditure reports do not agree with Waigani Public Accounts reports;
* Expenditure statement of the department revealed expenditure in excess of warrant authorities;
* Staff had been overpaid by K 40,722;
* A total of 215 cheques were paid to staff as special pays –  a total of K231,833.70;
* Special pay advices had not been recorded in personnel files;
* Advances of K255,183 were unacquitted;
* Nine officers were paid advances whilst their earlier advances were unacquitted;
* 24 advances totalling K226,708 recorded as acquitted were not supported by any documentation;
* 19 instances of expenditure in a sum of K 279,040 were erroneously charged to incorrect expenditure vote items in order to conceal unbudgeted expenditure;
* There were 21 instances of hire of motor vehicles with no competing quotes;
* Lease agreements were not made available to the auditors;
* There was no evidence at all of acquittal of cash advances;
* There were no reports concerning the result of travel;
* K588,783 was incurred for district workshops held in provinces – but there was no approved written submission(s);
* Payment for travel and accommodation were made on the basis of fax copies of pro forma invoices;
* K289,900 was advanced to officers for travel but was not acquitted;
* K200 cash advance made to the secretary for attending a funeral is not acquitted;
* K8,800 of K16,585 incurred for a funeral has not been acquitted;
* K94,395 paid to FKPY Construction was made without compliance to the tender processes, no design or plan can be found, there was no checking of work specifications and no work completion certificates were given to the auditor;
* A total of K6.804 million was paid in grants. However, the auditor could not find any documentation or records and could not establish whether the funds were utilized for their designated purpose;
* Consultancies totalling K1,214,914 had no proper documentation, were wrongly approved, overpayments were detected, as were advance payments;
* Trust account records and accounts were not made available to the auditor; and
* 25 journal entries were not certified or verified by a competent officer.