Under The Angsana Tree: Auditor-General’s Report 2015/2016

Reports of the Auditor-General

The Report of the Auditor-General was signed on 14 July 2016 and submitted to the President of Singapore.

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Inadequate financial controls, weak governance uncovered in AGO report

The Auditor-General's report for Financial Year 2015/16 was released on Tue (Jul 26), and it uncovered instances of inadequate financial controls over Government operations and weak governance.

In a media release, the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) said that, as a whole, it audited the Government Financial Statements -- incorporating the accounts of all 16 Government ministries and eight organs of state -- and the financial statements of 3 statutory boards, a Government fund, 5 Government-owned companies and 3 other accounts. Selective audits were also carried out on 9 statutory boards and 3 Government funds.

The audit observations in this year's report relate to 6 ministries, including the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Defence, and 6 statutory boards such as the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and Nanyang Polytechnic, AGO said.

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'Serious irregularity', NParks officer created backdated documents for audit

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Auditor-General's Report flags irregularities in use of public funds

Lapses in the administration of grants, schemes and programmes, as well as instances of weak management of resources which resulted in wastage, were highlighted in the Auditor-General's Report for the Financial Year 2013/14, released on Thu (Jul 17).

After a few years in which the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) focused on procurement-related issues, it said it "consciously shifted" the emphasis for this year's audit to other areas to give the public sector time to enhance their procurement systems.

This year's report -- submitted by Auditor-General Willie Tan Yoke Meng to President Tony Tan Keng Yam on Jul 1 and presented to Parliament on Tue -- highlighted the following areas for public sector entities to pay greater attention to:

Administration of grants and commitment of public funds (4 serious observations cited)
Administration of schemes and programmes (7)
Management of land and assets (4)
Procurement (8)
Other lapses (8

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Auditor-General’s Report FY 2015/16: Audit observations

Newly refurbished Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall on July 10, 2014. TODAY file photo

In its latest report for financial year 2015/16, the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) flagged lapses and inadequate financial controls in 6 ministries and 6 statutory boards. These ranged from investments made without proper approval and evaluation by the Ministry of Defence, to the National Arts Council paying a consultancy fee of S$0.41 million for the construction of a bin centre that cost S$0.47 million.

Here’s are highlights of the AGO’s audit observations:

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (Mindef)
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (MOE)
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (MFA)
MINISTRY OF MANPOWER (MOM)
NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL (NAC)
LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (LTA)
HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (HDB)
MOE – NANYANG POLYTECHNIC (NYP)

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AGO report flags several ministries for lapses

When 2 universities failed to recover tuition-fee and study loans given to their students within a specified period,the Ministry of Education (MOE) did not take the necessary follow-up actions promptly.

Called out for its lack of oversight in administering schemes and programmes such as scholarship bonds and study loans, the MOE was 1 of 12 government bodies whose lapses were flagged by the Auditor-General’s Office’s (AGO) annual audit of the public sector.

Others cited for lapses in the AGO’s 61-page report, made public on Tue (Jul 26), included the Defence Ministry (Mindef) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

related:
Nanyang Polytechnic gave hidden subsidies, excess funds to subsidiary
Auditor-General’s Report FY 2015/16: Audit observations

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10 things to know about the AGO report

After the report is submitted to the President and presented to Parliament, the Public Accounts Committee will deliberate on the report and may call upon the public sector entities to account of lapses where it deems necessary.

The Auditor-General's Office (AGO) released its report for the financial year 2015/16 on the proper accounting, management and use of public resources on Tue (Jul 26).

Here are 10 things to know about the report:

The AGO audited a total of 16 ministries, 11 statutory boards, 8 organs of state, 5 government-owned companies, 4 government funds & 3 other accounts
The Housing Development Board (HDB)
Land Transport Authority (LTA)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
The Ministry of Law
Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)
The Ministry of Education (MOE)
The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY)
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
What happens now?

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Auditor-General flags lack of oversight in MOE on enforcing study loans, scholarship bonds

Students at the self-study area of National University of Singapore. FOTO: ST FILE

The Auditor-General has signalled his concern over weak governance of public funds in several government agencies, and "lax" oversight of external entities tasked to administer schemes and loans.

These weaknesses in governance were set out in the latest annual report of the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) released on Tue (Jul 26).

Most notable was poor oversight found in Ministry of Education (MOE) funded tuition fee loans, study loans and scholarships which are administered by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Related:
About $13.9m in tolls at land checkpoints under-collected due to LTA's weak controls
Nanyang Polytechnic gave $8.38m in 'hidden subsidies, excess funds' to subsidiary

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AGO audit reveals ‘serious lapses’ in several Government agencies