OAG finds anomalies in trust fund acount

THE Auditor-General’s 2019 report on the Social Services Sector tabled in Parliament in June found “anomalies” in the Children’s Overseas Treatment Trust Fund account that is managed by the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH).

The Office of the AuditorGeneral (OAG) stated within five days after the end of each month, the trust officer was expected to prepare a reconciliation of trust account balances to the ledger total and the trust bank account.

The Children’s Overseas Treatment Trust Fund was initially established in the 1990s to assist with sending children overseas for operations and treatment not available in Fiji before the Ministry of Health and Medical Services had established its overseas treatment funding and guidelines.

“Reconciliation of the trust fund accounts were not performed on a monthly basis.

“List of patients who have made payments/contributions during the year 2018/2019 and details of consumables purchases for patients and list of patients treated/diagnosed were not provided for audit review.”

The OAG stated this was because of a weak supervisory function in the accounts section, resulting in delays in performing reconciliations of accounts with errors and omissions not detected in a timely manner.

“The ministry should carry out a review of its accounting function including policies, procedure and the roles and responsibilities of all officers in the finance section.”

The Health Ministry stated the CWMH, which managed the account, would ensure that postings were done on a monthly basis and reconciliations prepared and submitted on a regular and timely basis.

The Trust Fund account balance in July 2019 was $275,886.