—Cites Improved Financial Management Compliance
IPNEWS: A 2023 Financial Statement audit of the general Auditing Commission has revealed that the Incident Management System on COVI-19 remitted US$ 507,856.02 United states dollars to the government of Liberia consolidated account in Fiscal Year 2024. The US$ 507,856.02 are part of proceeds generated from passengers’ testing fees.
The Audit period which covers fiscal years 2020/2021, and special fiscal year 2021 (July 1-December 31, 2021), including fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023, reveals that the Incident Management System-COVID-19, financial statement presents fairly in all material respects, the statement of receipt and payments as at December 31, 2023, the statement of comparison of Budget and Actual Amounts and summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information for fiscal period than ended in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS 2017) cash basis of accounting.
Section 34 of the public financial Management Act 2009, as Amended and Restated 2019 states that, all un-allotted appropriations and all uncommitted allotments will lapse at the end of the fiscal year. All balance of appropriations committed but not disbursed prior to the end of the fiscal year. All such balances not disbursed after ninety (90) days following the end of the preceding fiscal year shall be moved to government Consolidated Account. The recording, accounting and reporting of such undisbursed balances shall be set out in accounting regulations to be issued under this Act and shall be consistent with the provisions of sections 47, 48 and 49 of this Act.”
The General Auditing Commission conducted five separate audits of the Incident Management system. Those audits include four financial statement audits and one performance audit. These unprecedented number of audits ended with a documented improvement in the financial management of public funds by the IMS. The GAC rendered four opinions to the four financial statements audits conducted. Those opinions are 2020/2021 —–Qualified Opinion, special Fiscal Year 2021 ——- Qualified Opinion, FY 2022 —— Unqualified Opinion and FY 2023 —— Unqualified Opinion.
In audit, a qualified opinion is issued when the auditor has identified misstatements in the financial statements, but these misstatements are not pervasive. In simpler words, despite the identified issues, the financial statements are still reliable. This definition is reflective of the IMS records in fiscal year 2020/2021 and Special Fiscal Year 2021. However, an unqualified opinion as rendered the IMS Fiscal years 2022 and 2023 indicates that the financial statements present fairly in all materials respects the financial positions and results of the IMS. The audit report expressed that the general standards were followed in all respects on during the engagement. This progressive output by the IMS worth emulating by stakeholders in future outbreak responses.
