Lapses & weaknesses in management of public funds in
some ministries, govt agencies
SINGAPORE : Lapses and weaknesses in the internal controls
over the management of public funds have been found in several
ministries and government agencies. This was revealed in the
Auditor-General's report for the financial year 2009/2010 released
on Tuesday.
The report also showed the need for greater vigilance in
the area of IT security.
But the lapses were not as severe as those highlighted in
last year's report, which involved millions of dollars that could
have been spent more prudently.
Some of the areas that came under scrutiny were how well
finances were managed and how efficiently resources were
used.
One ministry that did not fare well in financial management was
Community Development, Youth and Sports.
Managing agents of three welfare homes transferred donations of
S$34,907 to the accounts of voluntary welfare organisations (VWOS)
- when the money should have gone to the homes.
At one welfare home, valuables and nearly S$13,000 cash belonging
to residents were kept in cardboard boxes and shopping bags in the
Superintendent's office.
The misuse of government payouts meant for patients was also
uncovered under the Ministry of Finance accounts.
Test checks at six nursing homes showed that between 2005 and 2009,
as estimated S$1.19 million in government payouts was cashed by the
homes on behalf of patients. But one home treated the money as its
revenue, while the other five used it to pay for medical treatment
and charges incurred by the respective patients, without their
authorisation.
One of the homes also used the money to buy general supplies and
equipment such as wheelchairs and safety vests.
Wastage of public funds was another issue. Here, the Ministry of
Defence did not fare well. Checks on two camps revealed lapses in
the way meals were accounted for - there were 63 instances of
excess meal orders. These were covered up by personnel managing the
cookhouses or servicemen who falsified the records. That resulted
in unnecessary expenditure of about S$22,000. The report stated
that MINDEF has taken disciplinary action against the personnel
involved in the falsification of records.
There was also an instance when revenue due to the government was
not collected.
The Singapore Police Force lost S$648,000 in revenue; for more than
10 years, it did not charge town councils and statutory boards a
fee of S$25 for every Warrant of Arrest enforced.
This happened between 1997 and 2009 for several prosecuting
agencies.
As for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it had over 50 cases of
overpayment of salaries, bonuses, overtime claims, medical and
dental subsidies to the mission staff, as well as double payment of
medical expenses. These amounted to at least $5,800.
Other lapses observed include non-compliance with government
instructions and guidelines such as an officer certifying his own
claims.
The report said that although the amount of repayments observed
from the test checks is not significant, the control lapses need to
be rectified so that the system of internal controls is rigorous
enough to ensure that payments made are correct and for valid
purposes.
In the area of IT, security lapses were found in the government
accounting system "[email protected]", administered by the
Accountant-General's Department.
Over 640 end-user accounts were wrongly given access rights to an
application designer tool. Some of the accounts would allow users
to modify programs or records in the system.
There was also an unauthorised testing of a computer system at the
Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority that saw two invoices
generated with incorrect amounts.
The report stated that the lapses should not be seen as reflecting
the general quality of the internal controls in the bodies
concerned, but they do point to the need for greater vigilance,
especially in IT security as government ministries and statutory
boards are extensively computerised.
A horizontal audit across statutory boards to identify gaps and
shortcomings in governance framework and practices was also
conducted. And it was observed that in general, statutory boards
had in place systems and processes for governance.
The report will be deliberated by the Public Accounts Committee and
where necessary, particular ministries would have to account for
the lapses reported.
- CNA/ms
