Brennan Report - Department of Health and Children

Report of the Commission on Financial Management and Control Systems in the Health ServiceRecommendations on Monitoring Timeliness of Financial ReportsR8.5 The draft statutory accounts must be approved by the health board by I April following year end and theaudited statutory accounts must be completed by the C&AG and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtaswithin 9 months of year end in accordance with current statutory requirements. Where this requirement is notmet, the CEO should be required to provide a written explanation to the Secretary General, for inclusion in hisreport referred to at R8.6(v), setting out the reasons why these statutory deadlines have not been met.R8.6 The Department of Health and Children should publish on its website details of the performance of healthboards/agencies in terms of meeting their financial accounting responsibilities, including:(i) Year end date;(ii) Date financial accounts/statements are finalised/submitted;(iii) Date audit completed (including section 6(4) reports, if any, on the accounts);(iv) Details of organisations failing to meet their deadlines should be highlighted in an appropriate manner;and(v) Publish and widely circulate a report with commentary on performance annually by 1 January each yeari.e. 12 months after the period to which the report relates.We recognise that the Comptroller and Auditor General has complete constitutionalindependence and is accountable only to the Dáil for the performance of his functions.Nonetheless, we believe that the Comptroller and Auditor General fully supports efforts toimprove standards of accountability in the health services and the public sector generally. Inparticular, we believe the Comptroller and Auditor General would welcome any steps to dealwith persistent breaches of statutory accounting and auditing obligations. For these reasons,we believe that the Comptroller and Auditor General should be required to make an annualdeclaration by 1 January of each year to the Public Accounts Committee certifying (i) thebodies which he has audited / caused to be audited in accordance with statutory obligationsand (ii) the bodies which he has been unable to audit. His report should state the reasons forthe latter inability, distinguishing between (i) delays caused by the auditee and (ii) delays causedby lack of resources or other aspects of the operation of his own Office. In the latter case, theComptroller and Auditor General should indicate the steps required to remedy the problemsleading to such delays.Recommendation on a Declaration by the Comptroller and Auditor GeneralR8.7 The Comptroller and Auditor General should lay before the Public Accounts Committee a report (withcommentary) on performance in meeting accounting and auditing deadlines annually by 1 January each year i.e.12 months after the period to which the report relates.Audit by the Comptroller and Auditor GeneralThe Comptroller and Auditor General provides up to two possible outputs of his audit: a"section 6" report and a management letter.Section 6(4) reports: Where significant issues arise during an audit these are referred to inthe Comptroller and Auditor General’s section 6(4) reports. Such reports allow theComptroller and Auditor General to report on matters he deems appropriate to report,following his examination of the system of internal control operated by health boards. Suchreports are unsatisfactory. Section 6(4) reports that do not refer to any specific items are clean104