GOVERNMENT AUDIT.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5132, 30 May 1927, Page 4

GOVERNMENT AUDIT.

POSITION OF POWER BOARD.

MEMBERS OBJECT TO DELAY

The delay in the Government audit of accounts came in for criticism at the annual meeting of the Thames Valley Electric Power Board on Thursday last.

The manager (Mr R. Sprague) presented a statement of receipts and expenditure of the board’s operations during the past 12 months. The details were accepted as being correct, but Mr F. E; Flatt said that he did not often have cause for complaint. He wished to point out that the members had not received an audited bal-ance-sheet for nearly two years. A temporary one was quite all right, and no doubt it was correct, but the position was unsatisfactory neverther less. He suggested that when the chairman was next in Wellington he should voice the board’s objection to the delay in audit matters to the department concerned. It was contended by Mr Flatt that the position a.t present obtaining was unfair to the members of the board, to the staff, and to the ratepayers. He thought that steps should be taken to expedite the audit of accounts. The chairman (Mr. F. M. Strange) agreed, and pointed out that the fault apparently lay with the Audit Department, in that it was understaffed. No blame could be attached to the local district auditor, who was doing his utmost to cope with the arrears of work. He reminded the members that thej’ could always otbqin a copy of the balance-sTicet or any other figures that they might require, but at the same time the balance-sheet would not be officially audited. Mr H. M. Corbett said that an audited balance-sheet that was nearly two years old was of little value to members. He agreed entirely with Mr Flatt’s suggestion, and expressed the hope that the. chairman would look into the position and make strenuous representations to have a more expeditious audit made. Probably other local bodies were in a similar position to the board, but two years was unreasonably long to wait, for a certified balance-sheet. Ho doubted whether it was worth the expense of printing and circulating a balance-sheet that had not been officially audited.

The chairman said that he would be pleased to look into the matter when in Wellington, but he would line it to be clearly understood that the hoard was not casting any reflections on the member of the Audit Department who was doing his level best to cope with the arrears of work in the district.