The Sugar Industry Tribunal did not have the funds to hire an accountant to look through their 2016 accounts, according to tribunal registrar Timothy Brown.
Mr Brown recently told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts the accounts experienced delays for a number of years because of the lack of funds while at the same time dealing with vacant accountant positions.
“We went through one accountant after another,” he said, adding that when one left, the person that came in had to go through the tribunal’s financial system.
“Our 2016 accounts have been with us, and we were trying to get them done. It’s not that we didn’t try.
“We needed the professional assistance, but we did not have the budget for it.”
Mr Brown said the tribunal also struggled to make capital purchases.
“We struggled even to buy capital items and to do that we had to use our running expenses.”
He said that after finally appointing a chartered accountant, the tribunal was able to audit annual reports between 2016 and 2020.
“The 2019 report has been audited.
“The 2020 report has been audited. The 2021 report has been submitted, and the audit has started.
“We have progressed on the 2022 and 2023 reports and should have it ready by the end of this year.
“We expect to do everything this year.”
