COJ – Bank Reconciliation Delays of Up to 15 Months and Unapproved Reallocation of $14.6 Million

Auditor General's Findings

The 2023/2024 Auditor General’s Annual Report (subsections 3.2.196–3.2.203) covered the audit of the 2016/2017 and 2021/2022 Appropriation Accounts and the 2019/2020 financial statements of the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ).

The audit of the 2019/2020 financial statements revealed a generally satisfactory state of affairs; however, the CoJ was advised to strengthen the controls over the preparation of bank reconciliation statements to minimise the delays and the risk of errors and irregularities going undetected.During the audit, delays ranging from three to fifteen months were observed in the preparation and/or review of the bank reconciliation statements, although GoJ guidelines stipulate that all public entities should prepare monthly reconciliations of official bank accounts.

The report also found that, contrary to Sections 3.7 (vii) and 7.9.3 (i) of the Financial Instructions ,which stipulate adherence to the approved budget ceilings and prohibit the Accounting Officer from reallocating the approved budget for certain Objects, including Object 23 (Rental of Property and Machinery) and Object 24 (Utilities and Communication Services) ,the CoJ reallocated $14.6 million under these Objects to accommodate excess expenditure. CoJ’s failure to obtain the required approval to reallocate appropriated funds under these Objects overrides the GoJ Budgetary Control Policy and exposes the Agency to budget overrun.

The report further noted that the CoJ has made noted improvements in the submission of its Appropriation Accounts since the issue was raised in the 2023 Annual Report ,submitting nine Appropriation Accounts for 2013/2014 to 2015/2016 and 2017/2018 to 2022/2023 ,and committed to staying current with the Agency’s Appropriation Accounts submissions.