CHED welcomes 'truly historical' highest audit rating from COA
Published Jun 19, 2023 08:20 am
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Monday, June 19, welcomed the highest audit rating given by the Commission on Audit (COA) which it has received for the first time in its history.
(Courtesy of CHED)
“This is truly historical and a product of the various fiscal accountability reforms initiated when I assumed the CHED Chairmanship in 2018,” said CHED Chairman Popoy de Vera in a statement. Known as the highest recognition given to a government agency after an extensive examination and investigation conducted by COA, the “Audit Rating” known as an “unqualified opinion” or “unmodified opinion” was earned by CHED for its financial statement for the fiscal year 2022. “In the first exit conference I attended as CHED Chairman, I informed the COA auditor and his team that the Commission will act decisively on audit observations that have persisted even as early as the late 1990s,” De Vera said. “This included requiring higher education institutions (HEIs) who get CHED grants to clear all their unliquidated funds before they can even apply for project grants,” he added. De Vera noted that since that time, a total of P2,864,412,550.78 has been returned to the government coffers by HEIs. “Others have improved their documentation and reporting systems to clear their accounts,” CHED said. CHED also required several state universities and colleges (SUCs) who got Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds to “return the unexpended balances after the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of the DAP practice. ” Meanwhile, tighter procurement procedures were also implemented in the various CHED offices and prompt action on COA observations was done as soon as the COA reports came out. With this, De Vera assured that CHED would continue to implement reforms to build upon the gains shown by the COA's unqualified opinion. “This includes increasing our disbursement rate and complying with the shift to cash based budgeting,” De Vera said. “We will also closely monitor and improve the practices of our regional offices that continue to have audit observations,” he added.
(Courtesy of CHED)
“This is truly historical and a product of the various fiscal accountability reforms initiated when I assumed the CHED Chairmanship in 2018,” said CHED Chairman Popoy de Vera in a statement. Known as the highest recognition given to a government agency after an extensive examination and investigation conducted by COA, the “Audit Rating” known as an “unqualified opinion” or “unmodified opinion” was earned by CHED for its financial statement for the fiscal year 2022. “In the first exit conference I attended as CHED Chairman, I informed the COA auditor and his team that the Commission will act decisively on audit observations that have persisted even as early as the late 1990s,” De Vera said. “This included requiring higher education institutions (HEIs) who get CHED grants to clear all their unliquidated funds before they can even apply for project grants,” he added. De Vera noted that since that time, a total of P2,864,412,550.78 has been returned to the government coffers by HEIs. “Others have improved their documentation and reporting systems to clear their accounts,” CHED said. CHED also required several state universities and colleges (SUCs) who got Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds to “return the unexpended balances after the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of the DAP practice. ” Meanwhile, tighter procurement procedures were also implemented in the various CHED offices and prompt action on COA observations was done as soon as the COA reports came out. With this, De Vera assured that CHED would continue to implement reforms to build upon the gains shown by the COA's unqualified opinion. “This includes increasing our disbursement rate and complying with the shift to cash based budgeting,” De Vera said. “We will also closely monitor and improve the practices of our regional offices that continue to have audit observations,” he added.