Auditor General's Report on the Public Accounts of Montserrat 2004

110. We therefore reiterate that it is the Accounting Officer’s
responsibility to seek proper authorization and approval from legislative
Council for a Schedule of Fees.
3.4 DEVELOPMENT UNIT
3.4.1 Capital Expenditure
111. Authorised capital expenditure for the fiscal year amounted to
$10,480,400. Actual capital expenditure amounted to $3,699,783 being
35.3% of projected expenditure.
3.4.2 Arrears of Revenue
112. Outstanding rents at year end amounted to $101,593.44. Although
legal action was sought to redress the situation, minimal repayment efforts
were being made by the tenants.
113. The mounting arrears are presenting an over-optimistic view for
future revenues and cash flows whereas probable collection seems to be
diminishing. A policy decision should therefore be taken to determine the
future housing and fee paying status of these tenants.
3.5 TREASURY
3.5.1 Arrears of Revenue
114. Outstanding revenue at the end of 2004 amounted to $900,509. Of
this amount, $15,750 was recorded as outstanding for Trade Licences while
$884,759 was recorded under Emergency Fuel Supplies.
3.5.2 Reconciliations
115. Reconciliation of bank balances and other account statements is an
effective control mechanism to ensure that public funds are spent and/or
invested wisely. With regards to bank balances in the Public Accounts, these
are often reconciled late and often left incomplete in that some of the
necessary adjustments are not made. For example, there are items in the
reconciliation that require adjustments to be effected but these remain
outstanding for greater than a year. This indicates that this control
mechanism is not as effective as it is intended to be.
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