THE Auditor General found Ministry of Education staff were not providing acquittal of monies taken while going on trips, resulting in an outstanding balance of $263,754 as of July 31, 2023.
This was stated in the Auditor Generals Report on Social Services Sector for 2023 that was tabled in Parliament recently.
The audit report stated a travelling officer shall recoup the travel advance within seven days of completing travel by submission of an acquittal report with supporting documents.
The ministry had an outstanding balance of $263,754 as at July 31, 2023 – an increase of $98,771 or 60 per cent from the previous year. The audit noted that the high closing balance in 2023 was due to late retirement of accountable advances with no consequences for non compliance.
“This indicated that the ministry did not have in place an effective follow up process to ensure timely retirement of accountable advances,” said the Auditor General report.
“The ministry should establish an effective follow-up process that will ensure timely retirement of accountable advances and compliance with the Finance Manual.
“Ensure non-compliance with the requirements of the Finance Manual should be dealt with according to the ministry’s disciplinary policy.”
In response, the ministry highlighted the current balance of $164,983 has been reduced to $143,157.71 for which they would be taking further legal actions.
“The ministry has written to the seven officers who owe advances to the Ministry to recoup funds, failure to respond to the letter, these officers will be taken to court to recover the sums,” the ministry response to the report said.
