REPORT BY THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS 2022

Today, the Auditor General, Mr. Charles Deguara, presented to the Hon. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Anglu Farrugia, the Annual Audit Report on the Public Accounts for 2022. It comprises 26 audit reports on the operations of several public sector entities. This publication also includes an analysis of the Financial Report 2022, as well as an overview of the Statements of Arrears of Revenue for the same year, as submitted to Treasury by the respective Ministry, Department and Entity.

The National Audit Office has judiciously analysed the level of compliance of various expenditure and revenue items with prevailing rules and regulations. The Report gives over 250 relevant recommendations which are meant to address the shortcomings identified during these reviews and thus promote good governance and best practice in Government’s operations.

Some of the key findings identified were the following:

• Limited internal controls and lack of segregation of duties.
• Habitual bypassing of procurement regulations, including irregular use of negotiated procedures, services rendered under expired contracts and lack of necessary approvals.
• Weaknesses in the payroll system, leading to incorrect calculation of allowances and regular use of overtime, often unauthorised.
• Insufficient enforcement on amounts due to Government.
• Lack of audit trail and Standard Operating Procedures.

To view report (.PDF) please follow link.