The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) has not audited the financial accounts of the i-Taukei Affairs Board since 2007, as revealed by Auditor-General Finau Nagera. Nagera made this disclosure during a presentation to the Public Accounts Committee while discussing the audit reports for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 General Administration Sector.
The OAG is currently waiting for the draft financial statements for 2008 and the years that followed to be submitted for auditing. Nagera indicated that these pending reports will be outsourced to external accounting firms.
However, she expressed satisfaction with the progress of the Provincial Council financial reports, noting that they are only a few years behind. The OAG plans to finalize the financial accounts for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 within the current financial year.
According to Nagera, there are 56 draft financial reports that the OAG intends to audit internally, without outsourcing. The goal is to complete the 2023-2024 financial report in the next financial year (2024-2025) to ensure all provincial councils are up to date.
Nagera emphasized that the Ministry of i-Taukei Affairs holds a supervisory role over the i-Taukei Affairs Board and each provincial council, ensuring they are accountable and provide timely reports. This accountability extends to not only the Ministry but also the OAG, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and ultimately to Parliament, which allocates funding to them.