Can Tardy Filing of Financial Statements be Prevented?

Elena Smith

Senator Elena Smith also inquired about measures that can be put in place to prevent a recurrence of the tardy recording of statements.  Here’s her question, as well as the response given by Auditor General Dorothy Bradley.

Elena Smith, Member, Public Accounts Committee

“In terms of the lack of responses coming from the ministries or departments that you would have audited, what would be the steps taken to ensure that the next time around that these departments or these persons would then respond to your queries, because we are looking at finding ways of addressing and finding ways of improving what we have because we are seeing that regularly they don‘t respond.  Then what happens?”

Dorothy Bradley

Dorothy Bradley, Auditor General

“Nothing.  Nothing happens.  From my end, I would write to say that we have dealt, well the report would say that you are expected to respond within a certain time.  In some instances, maybe we have sent a follow-up but it doesn‘t matter because we don‘t get a response, we have never gotten a response.  That‘s why we have been agitating for the Public Accounts Committee to assist us in bringing attention to those instances, but up to now we haven‘t gotten any responses.  Well I shouldn’t say we have not because since we have started writing in those reports the Ministry of Education has responded.”