Briones says COA audits should not be taken 'hook, line and sinker'
Published Aug 16, 2019 05:03 pm
By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
Education Secretary Leonor Briones called for reforms in scope and policy of the Commission on Audit (COA), and emphasized the need to revisit the state audit code to “adapt” it to the realities of modern governance.
Secretary Leonor Briones (FACEBOOK / DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Briones, during a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, raised concern over the “little regard” given to the agency even as it “has already submitted its responses” to the Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) issued by the Department’s resident COA auditor, and had “started working” with the agency to address its observations as early as March.
“DepEd has great respect for the role of COA in promoting the efficiency and integrity of the operations of government agencies, and in safeguarding public funds against irregular or unconscionable expenditures,” said Briones who is also a former national treasurer and a public finance expert.
Briones – who is also a former COA chairperson – noted that while DepEd fully recognized the COA’s “power and duty to examine all expenditures or uses of funds and property for this purpose”, its 2018 Annual Audit Report has “triggered statements from a number of senators expressing frustration over DepEd’s performance; media reported on it, often with use of superlative descriptions, lost in the statements and headlines are DepEd’s comments to the audit observations, partly integrated in the audit report itself.”
DepEd reiterated that an AOM – as described in COA Circular 2009-006 (Prescribing the Use of Rules and Regulations on Settlement of Accounts) – is a set of “deficiencies noted in the audit of accounts, operations or transactions requiring comments thereto, and/or submission of documentary and other information requirements within a reasonable period.”
“An AOM may be regarded as preliminary and non-conclusive since it still allows the audited agency to submit comments and documents,” DepEd explained. “Only after an evaluation of the submissions would an audit decision be made to whether allow or suspend a transaction,” it added.
DepEd also clarified that the Annual Audit Report is the “final output of the regularly yearly audit of the accounts and operations of a government agency by its assigned auditor” thus – the report “consolidates the resident auditor’s main observations and recommended actions.”
‘Compliance’ not ‘corruption’
Meanwhile, Briones also noted that “many of the observations” pertained to compliance with accounting standards in the keeping of accounts and documentation, and that “none of the observations found significant by the resident auditor was about corruption.”
Briones further highlighted that the comments and committed actions of DepEd about the observations recorded in the 2018 Annual Audit Report itself. “Notable of these are the undistributed buffer stock of learning materials, the reported errors in textbooks, and the expenses for out-of-office trainings, which have caught the attention of legislators, the media, and the public,” DepEd added.
Considerations in policy and ‘limits’ of audit
While Briones acknowledged the extent of COA’s power, she pointed out that its observations were taken by media, and even seasoned and well-meaning legislators, “hook, line, and sinker with little regard for the side of the audited agencies.” In DepEd’s case, she noted that the audit observations were immediately concluded in some news to be “anomalies.”
To help address this issue, Briones suggested that the scope of COA’s audit “should be properly defined” because “the findings can have very serious implications on audit policy” and “can become administratively debilitating for agencies instead of being truly facilitative for fostering government efficiency.”
Briones also emphasized the need to revisit the state audit code and adapt it to the realities of modern governance and expressed confidence that COA Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo “will look into these policy considerations with openness to search for reforms.”
Read more: DepEd chief questions COA’s claims of textbook ‘errors’
Secretary Leonor Briones (FACEBOOK / DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Briones, during a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, raised concern over the “little regard” given to the agency even as it “has already submitted its responses” to the Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) issued by the Department’s resident COA auditor, and had “started working” with the agency to address its observations as early as March.
“DepEd has great respect for the role of COA in promoting the efficiency and integrity of the operations of government agencies, and in safeguarding public funds against irregular or unconscionable expenditures,” said Briones who is also a former national treasurer and a public finance expert.
Briones – who is also a former COA chairperson – noted that while DepEd fully recognized the COA’s “power and duty to examine all expenditures or uses of funds and property for this purpose”, its 2018 Annual Audit Report has “triggered statements from a number of senators expressing frustration over DepEd’s performance; media reported on it, often with use of superlative descriptions, lost in the statements and headlines are DepEd’s comments to the audit observations, partly integrated in the audit report itself.”
DepEd reiterated that an AOM – as described in COA Circular 2009-006 (Prescribing the Use of Rules and Regulations on Settlement of Accounts) – is a set of “deficiencies noted in the audit of accounts, operations or transactions requiring comments thereto, and/or submission of documentary and other information requirements within a reasonable period.”
“An AOM may be regarded as preliminary and non-conclusive since it still allows the audited agency to submit comments and documents,” DepEd explained. “Only after an evaluation of the submissions would an audit decision be made to whether allow or suspend a transaction,” it added.
DepEd also clarified that the Annual Audit Report is the “final output of the regularly yearly audit of the accounts and operations of a government agency by its assigned auditor” thus – the report “consolidates the resident auditor’s main observations and recommended actions.”
‘Compliance’ not ‘corruption’
Meanwhile, Briones also noted that “many of the observations” pertained to compliance with accounting standards in the keeping of accounts and documentation, and that “none of the observations found significant by the resident auditor was about corruption.”
Briones further highlighted that the comments and committed actions of DepEd about the observations recorded in the 2018 Annual Audit Report itself. “Notable of these are the undistributed buffer stock of learning materials, the reported errors in textbooks, and the expenses for out-of-office trainings, which have caught the attention of legislators, the media, and the public,” DepEd added.
Considerations in policy and ‘limits’ of audit
While Briones acknowledged the extent of COA’s power, she pointed out that its observations were taken by media, and even seasoned and well-meaning legislators, “hook, line, and sinker with little regard for the side of the audited agencies.” In DepEd’s case, she noted that the audit observations were immediately concluded in some news to be “anomalies.”
To help address this issue, Briones suggested that the scope of COA’s audit “should be properly defined” because “the findings can have very serious implications on audit policy” and “can become administratively debilitating for agencies instead of being truly facilitative for fostering government efficiency.”
Briones also emphasized the need to revisit the state audit code and adapt it to the realities of modern governance and expressed confidence that COA Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo “will look into these policy considerations with openness to search for reforms.”
Read more: DepEd chief questions COA’s claims of textbook ‘errors’