The Independent Legal Services Commission (ILSC) has publicly acknowledged significant delays in completing its financial audits from 2019 to 2024 due to a range of operational challenges. These setbacks come despite the Commission’s mandate to uphold accountability and transparency within the legal profession. However, the ILSC itself has been criticized for failing to meet the legislative timelines for audits, which typically require completion within three to six months after the end of the financial year.
Luisa Wainiqolo, Secretary of the Commission, highlighted that these delays were primarily a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely disrupted their capacity to compile financial statements and coordinate with the Office of the Auditor General effectively. Additional contributing factors included resource constraints such as staffing limitations and the delayed engagement of external accountants. This was further complicated by necessary adjustments to the 2016 financial accounts that impacted subsequent years.
It wasn’t until October 2022 that the ILSC engaged an external accounting firm to rectify the financial backlog from 2017 through 2022. While the audits for 2016 to 2018 were finally completed in July 2024, the accounts from 2019 to 2022 were returned to the Commission for additional amendments later that year. To manage rising costs, the ILSC has requested the Auditor General to accept individual annual account submissions, a strategy aimed at minimizing additional audit fees incurred due to earlier missed deadlines and necessary reworks.
Despite the challenges, Wainiqolo assured that the ILSC remains committed to complying fully with legislative requirements, prioritizing the restoration of timeliness, transparency, and accountability in its financial reporting processes.
This situation mirrors broader transparency issues faced by various institutions in Fiji. Similar challenges have been observed in bodies like the Sugar Industry Tribunal and the iTaukei Affairs Board, which also cite staff shortages and funding difficulties as significant barriers to timely financial reporting. The systemic nature of these issues highlights a pressing need for strategic improvements in financial governance across multiple sectors in the region.
Efforts by organizations like REALB to digitalize records and employ external auditors reflect an emerging commitment to addressing these ongoing challenges. While the road to improved financial governance is complex, the proactive measures being taken signal a positive direction toward achieving greater accountability and transparency in Fiji’s regulatory landscape.
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