Tit-for-tat between MND, Workers' Party over AHPETC’s financial audit rumbles on
[UPDATE Sat, 15 Feb 1150AM: Workers' Party links audit issues to post-GE handover, MND dismisses claims].
The Workers' Party says "information gaps" due to the post-2011 General Election handover led to independent auditors being unable to verify certain figures during a recent audit of the
Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
In a Friday statement, the WP asked the Ministry of National Development to assist with the audit and in closing some of these "information gaps".
"At FY 2011, the auditors had tried to request information from former auditors, unsuccessfully. Repeated attempts by the Town Council (TC) to obtain information from the former Managing Agent (MA) and government authorities, such as asking MND / the Housing and Development Board... did not yield answers. Attempts in FY 2012 to get the information were also unsuccessful. Unless those agencies with the required information furnish them to the TC, it is likely that information gaps will remain and the accounts will continue to be qualified every year," said the statement. [FULL STATEMENT HERE]
However, the MND has swiftly rebuffed this and said in its own statement that the concerns raised in the independent audit were not linked to post-GE handover issues.
"The AHPETC auditor expressed a disclaimer of opinion on the TC’s FY2012 financial statements. This is more severe than a qualified opinion," it said.
"In making the disclaimer, the Auditors raised 13 issues of concern. Of these 13 issues, 4 of them are related to issues the auditor had raised the year before (FY 2011). The TC had assured MND then (15 August 2013) that “most have been rectified, with a few still in progress”. The auditor’s latest report however showed this not to be the case.
"Nine new issues of concern were raised by the auditor for this FY 2012... such failures are not related to handover issues," it said. [READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE]
Earlier this week on Thursday, MND said that auditors for the opposition-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) reported that the council had not complied with certain provisions of the Town Councils Act and the Town Councils Financial Rules.
Auditors from Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton LLP noted that AHPETC “had not transferred funds into its Sinking Funds” as required under the Town Councils Financial Rules, and “had not made available to the auditors details of project management service fees paid to a related party”.
AHPETC also had not made available “latest management accounts and records of minutes subsequent to the financial year end”, and they were not able to determine the “validity and accuracy” of various items in AHPETC’s accounts.
There were also “unexplained differences” of Goods and Services Tax (GST) payable of some $518,000 and “unreconciled differences” of some $63,000 in cash and bank balances.
These observations have led the auditors to submit a “disclaimer of opinion” to the Auditor-General, the second year the council’s auditors have done so.
MND also highlighted that the audited financial statements for 2012 were submitted late by AHPETC despite being given seven reminders.
Instead of meeting the 31 August 2013 deadline, they only submitted them on Monday, said the ministry.
