Audit Report for 1995

During 1996 the Audit Office published four reports, namely the 1994 and 1995 Audit Reports submitted to the House of Representatives, through the Minister responsible for finance; a report on Posta Ltd., as requested by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives; and a report on the Roads Department, as commissioned by the Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance.

This Department is in the process of being restructured to meet the expanded duties expected from this organisation following the setting up of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives and the proposed amendments in public audit legislation.

To meet the new challenges expert advice was sought to help in the:

• restructuring of the audit organisation to meet a demanding new audit environment;
  development of Ministry by Ministry audit risk assessment profiles to ascertain where and how audits should be carried out;
  assessment of the professional training levels of existing personnel and newly recruited personnel;
  development of a comprehensive audit training plan;
  preparation of a long term audit strategy;
  identification, procurement and implementation of IT audit software; and
  introduction of quality assurance functions for the drawing up of the 1995 Audit Report.

Limited audits

The Department carried out limited audits, reviews and inspections so as to provide some assurance that:

• adequate safeguards exist for the collection of public moneys and that the laws, directions or instructions relating to them have been duly observed;
• expenditures have been properly authorised and made for the purposes for which funds have been appropriated by the House of Representatives;
• inventory items and stores are properly procured, recorded, controlled and appropriately disposed of;
• the figures contained in the annual Financial Report of the Government of Malta are correctly stated.

Activities

Part I of the Audit Report provides details on the activities of the Audit Office as regards its aims, developments, structure, organisation, new audit methodologies, changing audit environment, its relationship with the PAC as well as the Audit Office human resources profile.

Specific audits

Part II gives a description of specific audits of a Financial or Value-for-Money nature conducted by the Office on selected departments. Audits carried out included:

• Audits of Local Councils contracted out to private sector auditors and overviewed by this Office
• Overseas audit of the Malta High Commission - (London)
• Mosta Technopark
• Social Assistance programmes
• Arrears of revenue
• Travel abroad on official Government business
• Transport
• Service pensions
• Asset management

Corporate issues

The audits carried out revealed the following corporate issues which are of particular concern:

• ineffective enforcement programmes, mechanisms and inherent activity levels for the collection of moneys due to Government is significantly increasing the arrears of revenue;
• existing regulations are not always being developed to reflect the new processes in new computerised systems;
• procurement of equipment, stores, works and services not always in accordance with relevant regulations;
• significant risks exist for misuse, abuse and theft of Government assets due to lack of inventory control and inadequate management of assets.

Public Accounts 1995
Part III of the Report involves an analysis of the Financial Report for 1995 and comments thereon.

The Department's limitations
The mandate of the Audit Office had to be severely restricted due to the limitation of human resources currently prevailing at this organisation.