18/07/2024

Auditor-General's Report 2023/2024

Auditor-General's Report 2023/2024

Report of The Auditor-General 2023/2024

Auditor-General finds misuse of CDA funds, government-paid leave for parents
The AGO also flagged issues with system errors that affected subsidies for infant care and childcare, as well as kindergarten fee assistance in pre-schools

An audit of government accounts has flagged issues such as the misuse of government-paid parental leave and withdrawals from the Child Development Account (CDA) to purchase unapproved items, including adult-size sunglasses.

In a report on July 17, the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) noted that some parents over-declared their employment income at the start of the leave claim period. Others made multiple employer claims for the same child, with companies where they were directors or shareholders. Three parents accounted for 26 of 55 cases of possible abuse of the government-paid parental leave scheme, involving disbursements totalling $690,000. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has reported this to the police and blocked errant employers from making further claims.

These findings were part of the AGO’s thematic audit on parenthood support measures by MSF and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). This audit is an in-depth examination of a selected area, which may involve more than one public sector entity. The full report by the AGO also highlighted key lapses by various ministries and public agencies for the 2023/2024 financial year.

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Accounts of dead ActiveSG members used to enter pools and gyms: AGO report
Lapses found in ministries and agencies during AGO audit

People used accounts belonging to dead members to enter ActiveSG swimming pools and gyms, the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) said on Wednesday (Jul 17). The AGO found that 18 deceased members' accounts were used for 283 admissions. These members have been dead for "as long as 4.8 years" before the dates of entry, the report said.

Of the 18 accounts, one account had been misused for 201 admissions. ActiveSG sports facilities are located across Singapore and membership is free for Singaporeans and permanent residents. Users can book facilities, such as badminton courts, or buy passes to enter pools and gyms. As part of its annual audit, the AGO conducted data analysis and test checks on the admission records of ActiveSG pools and gyms from Jul 1, 2022 to Jun 30, 2023. It found instances where ActiveSG members' passes were being misused. Under its terms, members' passes are not allowed to be transferred to other members.

But AGO found evidence that members shared their passes with other people for entry to its facilities. Its members were also found to have used ActiveSG special passes, or per-entry passes at discounted rates, to enter pools or gyms even though they were not eligible for those benefits. These observations indicated that controls over admissions to ActiveSG pools and gyms were inadequate, adding that such control weaknesses would result in "revenue leakage" for Sport Singapore (SportSG). SportSG collected S$8.13 million (US$6.1 million) in admission fees for ActiveSG pools and gyms for the financial year 2022/2023.



Statement by the Ministry of Finance on the Auditor-General’s Report FY2023/24

On behalf of public agencies, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) would like to thank the Auditor-General and her officers for the Report of the Auditor-General FY2023/24. The Auditor-General has issued an unmodified audit opinion on the Government Financial Statements. This is an independent verification that the Government’s accounts are prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with the law and public funds have been properly accounted for.

The Government takes the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO)’s observations seriously. The audits by AGO are crucial for maintaining public trust, accountability and transparency in the management of public monies. Where lapses have been identified, agency heads will review each case thoroughly to get to the root cause, and implement measures to address the issues promptly. We also continuously undertake efforts to strengthen governance capabilities, processes, and systems across agencies. Good practices highlighted will be shared across public agencies to raise governance standards. 

The FY23/24 AGO report raised three areas that public agencies need to pay greater attention to. These were:
  • Procurement and contract management, including maintaining proper oversight over contractors; 
  • Management of grants, including risk management and the use of data analytics to improve oversight;
  • Management of revenue and collections to ensure accurate and timely billing and collection of fees and revenue.


Possible overpayments, weakness in controls among lapses flagged by Auditor-General
Lapses found in procurement and contract management led to overpayments by the National Parks Board and Ministry of Education

SINGAPORE’S national auditor has flagged several public agencies for lapses in areas such as procurement and contract management, in its latest annual audit of the government’s accounts.

The Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) had carried out audits and issued unmodified opinions on the government financial statements of 16 ministries and eight organs of state. The same was done for the financial statements of three statutory boards, four government-owned companies and two other accounts. Selective audits were carried out on five statutory boards and three government funds, along with a thematic audit on selected parenthood support measures.

In a report released on Wednesday (Jul 17), the AGO found lapses in procurement and contract management in four agencies. They are the National Parks Board (NParks), the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC). Sport Singapore (SportSG) and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) were found to have revenue and collection lapses, while BCA recorded lapses in grant management.


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