KOTA KINABALU: The financial management of 31 Sabah state ministries, departments and agencies based on Accountability Index received an overall ‘Very Good’ rating in the Auditor-General’s Report 2016 Series 1.
Of the 31 audited state ministries, departments and agencies in Sabah, 22 were rated “Excellent”, six departments/agencies were rated “Good”, and three other departments and agencies were rated “Satisfactory”.
“The State Secretary’s Office not only maintained excellence or 5-star in financial management, it increased its points significantly,” the audit report said.
The audit report also said Sabah Public Service Commission scored excellence in financial management for the first time, an improvement from “satisfactory”, the previous year. However, the financial management performance of Sabah Islamic Religious Council dropped from “good” in 2015 to “satisfactory” in 2016.
Meanwhile, the audit report also mentioned that Sabah State Audit Department conducted spot checks and found certain weaknesses in 32 government departments, offices and agencies.
The weaknesses included failure to display reminder notices to the public on getting an official cash receipt upon making a payment; failure to enforce letter of authority requirement; and failure to use a safe/vault to safekeep official cash collections and documents.
Other weaknesses were practice of keeping official cash collections merely in a locked drawer; absence of record to show that a spot check had been carried out once in six months; and absence of authorisation letter from the department head to the officer who held the key and combination code to the safe/vault.
Also, according to the audit report, safes were not included in the structure of the building; there were no letters specifying the amount of money used for office expenses and purchases of diesel oil; and unrestricted use of funds.--BERNAMA