Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu/FILE/OAG

NATIONAL NEWS

Auditing the Auditor General: Justify Sh274mn expenditure

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 7 – The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has been given until the second week of February 2022 to submit supporting expenditure documents in relation to funds totaling Sh273.5 million  yet to be accounted for on the Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (IFMIS).

The discrepancies on financial record were picked by an independent auditor who assessed between the years 2014 and 2018.

While appearing before the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer to queries raised by PKF independent auditors, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu was tasked to explain how a total of Sh28 million was utilized in the 2014-2015 financial year.

The audit institution which vetted OAG accounts said it had not been provided with an explanation why the payments did not reflect on IFMIS.

The PAC team chaired by Garissa Township Member of Parliament Aden Duale directed that the OAG submits all the required financial documents to the independent auditor for reconciliation.

In 2015- 2016 financial year, PKF pointed out that the office of the Auditor General did not provide a reconciliation or explanation as why payments amounting to Sh52.1 million did not appear under IFMIS.

“Expenditure amounting to Sh52,168,455 as included in total payments that was not recorded as payments within the payment register under the Integrated Financial Management Information Systems. We were not provided with a reconciliation or explanation as to the payments did not appear in the IFMIS register,” PKF Audit Partner Asif Chaudhry said.

For the 2016-2017 financial year, OAG is said to have failed to provide supporting documents for expenditure amounting to Sh6.5 million but Gathungu said the office had retrieved payment vouchers for over Sh3 million.

She pointed out that a team was working to retrieve records for the remaining Sh3,3888,272.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

In 2017-2018, the OAG was to answer as to why an expenditure amounting to Sh10.3 million included within use of goods and services was not supported by relevant financial documentation.

“Payment vouchers amounting to Sh2,075,996 has been retrieved from the archives and provided to the auditor. Receipts totaling to Sh8,231,641 had been erroneously treated as expenditure were direct credits. We are in consultation and making follow up with both Central Bank Kenya and National Bank of Kenya to identify the payee details,” said Gathungu

Gathungu defended the audit office saying the variance was as a result of timing as ledgers remain open for updating after 30th June while payment registers are strictly based on record between July 1 to June 30 thus including transactions for the previous year.

“We are trying to reconcile the payment details register to the general ledger. This is in view of timing difference and voided or cancelled transactions. We are also in consultation with National Treasury especially on comparison of the two documents and how they comprehensively link the financial statements,” Gathungu said.

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News

NATIONAL NEWS

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 23 – Parliamentary watchdog committees have linked Auditor General Nancy Gathungu utterances on corruption to threats by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance....