The Commission on Audit (COA) has given the Office of the Vice President (OVP) its highest audit rating for the third straight year in 2020.
In a statement, the OVP said it received an “unqualified opinion” from COA in its Independent Auditor’s Report dated June 15. This is the third time the independent body has given such a rating to the OVP under the leadership of Vice President Leni Robredo.
An “unqualified opinion” is considered the “best opinion the agency can render to a government agency.”
Robredo’s office said this was awarded based “on the fairness of the presentation of the OVP’s financial statement,” which the COA said was a “sufficient and appropriate” basis for the awarding of the highest audit opinion.
“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of OVP as (of) December 31, 2020, and its financial performance, statement of cash flows, statement of changes in net assets/equity, statement of comparison of budget and actual amounts for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs),” the COA report read.
READ: OVP receives highest audit rating from CoA for 2019
Though she did not mention what other recommendations were in the report, Robredo said in a Facebook post that her office welcomes the “points for improvement” it received from the state auditors, whose primary function is to examine, audit, and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government.
“As we continue our efforts to exemplify transparency and accountability, we welcome recommendations for improvement and strive to be of excellent service to the Filipino people,” she added.
The vice president said the recognition from COA was made possible by the cooperation and collective efforts of her staff.
READ: OVP says favorable opinion from COA shows its commitment to excellent public service
“Mahalaga ang recognition na ito dahil patunay siya sa pagpapahalaga natin sa pagsasaayos ng ating mga sistema, lalo pagdating sa maayos na paggamit ng pera ng bayan (This recognition is important because this is proof of the value we place in fixing our systems, especially in the proper way to use the taxpayers’ money),” Robredo noted.
With the vice president at the helm of providing quality public service, her office also received its recertification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in February this year.