The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has garnered an unmodified opinion, the highest audit rating given by the Commission on Audit (COA) for the "fair presentation" of its financial reports and records.
PDEA Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva noted that COA lauded the agency’s overall presentation, structure and content of financial statements, including the disclosures and transactions for the year that ended on Dec. 31, 2021 and on the fairness of its presentation and devoid of material misstatements that may arise due to fraud or error.
“It is the highest audit opinion that the COA can render to a government agency. It means that all our financial records are in order and in accordance with their auditing rules and procedures,” Villanueva said.
In the independent report, COA Supervising Auditor Cherrie Lou C. Arguilla affirmed that the auditor rendered an “unmodified opinion” because the accompanying financial statements of PDEA were presented fairly and in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs).
“Having been IPSASs-compliant- a set of accounting standards issued by the IPSAS Board for use by the public sector entities around the world in the preparation of their financial statements, PDEA is truly a topnotch organization when it comes to the preparation of financial statements," Villanueva said.
The COA said the audit evidence obtained based on the financial position of PDEA as of Dec. 31, 2021 comprising its statements of financial performance; cash flows; changes in net assets/equity; comparison of budget and actual amounts for the year then ended; and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies, is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for an “unmodified opinion”.
“The recognition is a true reflection of PDEA’s commitment to serve the public with the same core values ingrained in our cultural cornerstones: professionalism, dynamism, excellence and accountability,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva thanked the PDEA-Financial Management Service (FMS) and the Logistics and Administrative Management Service (LAMS) for the preparation of the agency’s financial statements and documents, in conformity with the applicable financial reporting framework of COA.