LOCAL BODY ACCOUNTS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 82, 3 October 1931, Page 6

LOCAL BODY ACCOUNTS

DELAY IN AUDITING OFFICIAL STATEMENT

• Tho New:Zea.lan.d.:§Q?iety.of Accountants has repreaented to the. .fio.vcrnmentthe loug" delays-.-which haya.occurrcd in carrying-.out the audit- of "local body accounts. .There'have been, some instances of the;audit being very much in • arrear, and the. -society mado "tlio, suggestion that "in'such, cases .it should be undertaken -by public: Jiceountants at the request, of the Audit- ■ Depai-t----ment. ']\ ... _■: _ ,;" v -.' ■' " .V : At the Jaat mcetiiig p-f the society's. executive council a reply,-was received froni the Prime "Minister, iv the course of which he statedir^. . . "In the first place-it is admitted that in the past' there have been some instances of delay in connection with the audit of local body accounts, but !I am given to understand that in many instanced the .delay has been due to the neglect of'the officers of the local bodies concerned to', ' complete;..' their accounts within a reasonable time after the close- of. the . finahcjal' year. l,The. particular instance referred to in. your letter was a case in'point. , , "Another cause of delay was insufficiency in past years of audit-staff; This cause; however, is'now disappearing, as additional inspectors have been trained to "undertake the'work of auditing, and the past arrears have now, with the exceptibn of a few" instances, been overtaken. : ''On tho whole, I think it will be agreed,. the work of the Audit "Office in connection, with local body accounts has been uniformly well carried,.out, and having regard to all the eircum-. stances I do riot consider.that the ."Governmeut would be, juptified^ in abandoning the system at present obtaining. Imay mention, however, that your- society ,can assist, in improving matters by advocating the employincnt by local bodies of-accountants who arc, menir bei'S of your society., 'In this eon'ncc: tioh," ' concluded the Prime Minister, "I am'assured that the Audit Office, through'its "inspectors, '-<coiisistenUy brings' before' the n6tice\of local bodies the advisability, of,, making such :ap•poi^Ltments.".','. ; ,i"..'",.".*-.' ' ;-..;,• .'V "', .•.