SOME DEFALCATIONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 August 1940, Page 8

SOME DEFALCATIONS

IN STATE DEPARTMENTS. AUDITOR-GENERAL’S COMMENT (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “Defalcations on the part of departmental officers are. unfortunately, more numerous than those recorded in last year’s report,” states the Controller and Auditor-General, Mr C. G. Collins, in his annual report on the Public Accounts, tabled ini the House of Representatives. “The largest of these irregularities appears under the heading Post and Telegraph Department, and occurred in a small post office under the control of a non-permanent postmistress,” Mr Collins stated. “The circumstances of the theft were by no means unusual and the theft was not the result of any defect in the accounting system. "The irregularity shown in the statement as having occurred in the Public Works Department concerned the hiring of privately-owned lorries for purposes of transporting materials to be used on construction works. As the result of collusions between lorry-driv-ers and the department’s representative, times and quantities were inflated over a period of several weeks —a form of fraud which it is particularly difficult to detect.”

Irregularities in the Treasure Department and the Industries and Commerce, Tourist and Publicity Department are referred to by Mr Collins, who says it is evident that no major defalcation has been facilitated by weakness in departmental systems, but the Audit Office is constantly on the watch to guard against the possibility of loss through laxity or through lack of appreciation of the benefits of internal checks.

"During the year 10 cases of disqualification of members of local authorities came under the notice of the Audit Office,” Mr Collins states. "Four cases of misappropriation of funds by local body officials during the year were investigated by the Office. The total sum involved was £686, the major portion of this being in respect of one defalcation of £637. The work of audit inspectors during the year disclosed two cases in which county councils made unjustified claims on public moneys, and received payments in respect of those claims."