“With the start of the field work, the first Regularity Audit of the General Audit Chamber has started”, Roland Tuitt, chairman of the General Audit Chamber proudly announced on Monday November 28th.
“Following presentations to the various ministries and High Councils of State that took place between November 23rd and November 28th, the actual audit work, in other words gathering and reviewing information related to the regularity audit on the personnel expenditures, has started”, according to Tuitt. The audit team comprised of researchers contracted by the Audit Chamber from the firm Berenschot and augmented with staff from the Audit Chamber, met with the management of the seven ministries, the secretariat of Parliament, the secretariat of the Council of Ministers, the ombudsman, and the Advisory Council to present Introduction information about the audit, including the plan of action and scheduling for the actual audit activities.
“As an institution authorized by law to investigate the efficiency and lawfulness of revenues and expenditure of the government of Sint Maarten, it is important that the process is professional and transparent”, Tuitt stated. “As such, our presentation to the various entities included a clear explanation of the audit question that we seek to answer”.
Specifically, the Audit Chamber seeks to ascertain the degree of lawfulness of payments of wages to personnel in the year 2011at all seven ministries and organizations directly under these ministries.
Tuitt explained that the main question will be answered in several phases whereby the following detailed elements will be reviewed: Are the payments of employee wages lawful and correct? Are employee records well organized and salary scales correctly applied according to the job descriptions? Finally, is the administrative organization/ process for payment of wages up to date?
“It is important in the early phases of the building of Country Sint Maarten that fundamental information is available. Equally important is that areas for improvement can be identified”, Tuitt remarked. “Personnel expenditures represent a significant portion of the annual budget of government, and hence it is important that these expenditures are executed correctly and in accordance with law. Furthermore, after undergoing such a complex constitutional and organizational transition from island territory to country status, it is critical to determine whether the results are in line with the relevant legislation. This audit will provide an important baseline for future development.” The entities have pledged to provide their full corporation.
The Regularity Audit on Personnel Expenditures will be executed in phases. The first step related to the llegal construct or framework has already been completed. In this phase a review of relevant legislation was conducted to ascertain if each entity was established and is operating based on a correct legal basis. In the coming weeks, the audit team will review personnel files. In January and February 2012, the team will conduct the financial audit, whereby calculations related to salary and compensation will be reviewed. During that same period the team will investigate the internal control procedures whereafter the findings will be integrated and discussed in consultation with the management of the various entities.
“Once this process is completed, the recommendations and conclusions will be sent in draft to the ministers or boards of the entities for consultation. A final report to Parliament that will also be published for public consumption is expected in the second quarter of 2012”, the chairman of the Audit Chamber announced.
The General Audit Chamber was established on October 10, 2010, and has been working on its institutional development in the last year while preparing for the conduct of its core business, i.e. the execution of audits.