The local watchdog integrity and transparency group tells the Government it’s time to start making public servants pay for non-compliance with the Auditor-General’s reports. Chairman of Integrity Group Barbados (IGB) Andy Armstrong said on Monday that some public officers do not seem to be taking the Auditor-General seriously and should therefore be penalised.Armstrong is adamant that the various government departments which are tardy in submitting their annual financial reports in a timely manner need to fix that as instructed by Auditor-General Leigh Trotman“I am not saying no one is responsive, but in general, the impression we get in the public is that really, they are not taking the Auditor-General that seriously. We feel it is time there needs to be some consequences for ministries or state-owned enterprises that consistently refuse to comply with what
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB) has expressed concern about the “notable silence” from Government on troubling matters raised in the 2021 Auditor General’s Report, and has called for urgent action.ICAB said the underlying theme in the report appears to be a lack of good governance, and it warned of serious consequences if the matter is not tackled.“This is of serious concern as a lack of good governance can derail any attempt that Barbados has towards sustainable development. If this goes unaddressed, Barbados will continue to need the intervention of external agencies and may never fully be able to reduce unemployment or have its social programmes and policies achieve their intended objectives,” ICAB President Darshani Workman cautioned.
The Institute of Chartered Acccountants of Barbados (ICAB) appealed to government to take urgent action on the systemic issues raised in the 2021 Auditor General’s report. ICAB offered to assist in any way possible and urged the government to put into practice the slogan of the 2004 Barbados National Sustainability Development Policy, “Doing the right things by doing things right”. “The underlying theme in the Auditor General’s Report – 2021 …
The Ministry of Finance’s move to swiftly meet with the hierarchy of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Treasury Department, to address the obviously embarrassing revelations in the Auditor General’s report is an expected and desirable move.Many of the disclosures from the 2021 Auditor General’s Report were damning. They were not a good look for a government that is seeking to extricate itself from the crippling effects of successive global crises.There is not much more that can be said about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, as we now face an inflation disaster.For even though its worst effects are subsiding, the loss of gross domestic product (GDP), the near implosion of travel and tourism, and the extensive borrowing that resulted in an effort to keep the economy afloat during the pandemic are serious remnants that will take time to normalise.
Several state-owned entities (SOEs) have been meeting their obligations to produce up-to-date and audited financial statements of their operations, however, the Auditor General has identified many SOEs that have failed to produce audited financial statements for years.Auditor General Leigh Trotman noted that private sector auditors conduct a number of these audits even though the Constitution requires the Auditor General to be the auditor of ministries, departments and government-controlled entities.In his report on the status of audits conducted by private sector auditors, he cited in one case where the Rural Development Commission (RDC) had not produced audited accounts for a decade.Trotman said the RDC , which was formed in 1995, had no audited accounts forthcoming from 2010 to 2021. The entity told the Auditor General in the past that its audited financials for the year ending March 31, 2009, were “being finalized”. It reported the same state of affairs again.