CHAPTER 6 AUDITOR GENERAL AUDIT FINDINGS INTRODUCTION Note: The Constitution S188 (1) (b) states that the functions of the Auditor-General includes the auditing and reporting on the accounts, financial statements and financial management of all municipalities. MSA S45 states that the results of performance measurement must be audited annually by the Auditor-General. The efforts and dedication of the Municipality towards achieving an Unqualified Audit status (Clean Audit) are beginning to bear fruits with the achievement of an Unqualified Audit Opinion during the 2012/13 year for both Financial and Service Delivery Performance of the Municipality maintaining a constant position of an unqualified audit in 2011/12. This reflects progress toward meeting the national target of Clean Audit 2014 for local government. The City is responding comprehensively to all matters raised by the Auditor General to ensure progress towards the national objective of a clean audit. The audit opinion was issued with matters of emphasis as outlined in the report of the Auditor General of South Africa included in the annual report. Only two (2) audit findings were recurring from the 2011/12 financial year for Financial Performance of the Municipality, and all others identified were new issues that the AG identified, meaning that the Municipality had done well in addressing the matters previously raised. The Audit Opinion for Service Delivery Performance was improved as compared to the 2011/12 financial year, during which the Municipality received a qualified Audit Opinion. During the 2012/13 audit process the AG found that the percentage of targets that were not achieved as adequate and reliable evidence could not be provided was drastically reduced from 36% to 23% during the 2012/13 financial year. The detailed audit opinion is available on the 12/13 Annual Report. Audit Action plans were yet again developed based on the findings of the AG, these were on a continuously monitored though the Operation Clean Audit Committee meetings, which take place twice a month. These meetings gives the Municipality an opportunity to monitor the progress that has been made as well as preparation for the upcoming audit process. The Municipality is proud of this achievement and will continue to work very hard toward achieving an Unqualified Audit status. T6.0.1
COMPONENT A: AUDITOR-GENERAL OPINION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2012/13 6.1 AUDITOR GENERAL REPORT 2012/13 Auditor-General Report on Financial Performance 2012/13 Audit Report Status*: Unqualified with matters of emphasis Non-Compliance Issues Prior period error on property, plant and equipment incorrectly recorded as transfer in the current year Impairment of assets incorrectly disclosed on the financial statements Overstatement of prepaid electricity Bonus Accrual overprovided Bank Account not recorded in the accounting records of the municipality Appointment of a contractor for the construction of Rietvallei Ext 5-Roads and Stormwater Appointment of services providers for the supply, delivery, installation, reading and maintenance of prepaid water meter system Assets that were not presented for physical verification Depreciation and amortization per the performance statement does not reconcile to the notes Asset incorrectly valued Deviations were not disclosed in the annual financial statements Library books incorrectly valued Transfer of biological assets were not authorized Inaccurate allocation of work in progress Remedial Action Taken Assets management plan developed. Completion certificates have since been received. A few outstanding completion certificates will be capitalized in the next financial reporting period. Review of the final annual financial statements will be done by mid- August 2014 Reconciliations are done on a monthly basis to avoid recurrence of the finding, recons are further checked by the OPS Accountant Sundry Debtors and rechecked and signed off by Specialist: Accounts Receivables. Currently finalizing the June reconciliations. Mogale City has changed the Bonus Payment date from November (in 2012-2013 financial year) every year to paying its Employees for Bonuses on their birthdate this resulted in the Bonus Provision being overstated in 2013 financial year. In order to prevent such a reoccurrence we are due to attend a refresher GRAP Reporting and disclosure course in May 2014. This will assist the Section in ensuring that we comply with GRAP 25 Statement regarding employee benefits The bank account is closed and we received the signed confirmation from Standard Bank. Review of the SCM policy in progress and seminars where held in Mogale City for training of the BSC, BEC, BAC on SCM procedures and processes. Review of the SCM policy in progress and seminars where held in Mogale City for training of the BSC, BEC, BAC on SCM procedures and processes. Assets management plan developed. Asset verification of movable assets is being conducted currently and will be finalized end of July. Review of the final annual financial statements will be done by mid- August 2014 Assets management plan developed SCM submitted a list of deviations from July 2013 to June 2014. Assets management plan developed At the end of June 2014 management did the report to avoid the recurrence of the finding and to implement policy guideline and best practice. Assets management plan developed
to categories of PPE Understatement of revenue from penalties imposed on property rates Inaccurate disclosure note on consumer debtors Provisions overstated with collateral guarantee insurance Accounting policy for financial instrument is not adequate Leave taken before approval by line manager Information technology service continuity Security management User account management Review of the final annual financial statements will be done by mid- August 2014 Review of the final annual financial statements will be done by mid- August 2014 A journal was processed to reverse the provision which was no longer applicable to our staff as the MFMA prohibit such expenditure. In future we will confirm all provisions disclosed in the Trial Balance before compilation of annual financial statements Done The request was made to EXCO to consider reducing the signatories on the leave application to fast track approval and it was approved by EXCO subsequent to that a template was done and approved by EXCO. The action plan was not implemented during 201314 Financial year due to budget constraints however provision was made in the 2014-2015 budget. System Centre Data Protection Manager has been installed & Configured with the Tape Library. Data protection agent needs to be installed on each server & backup jobs created. All virtual servers are backed up. Completed. Completed 3 domain controllers running on windows server 2008 R2 OS have been installed. Monitoring tools AD Audit Plus & AD Manager Plus have been installed. Amount recorded in the general ledger inclusive of vat No performance contracts for employees Procedures in place for managers to review access rights on a quarterly basis for all the staff using the financial system e.g. printouts, forms etc. Active directory changes on user accounts for period January to March are running and a reports are formulated. BTO and Expenditure division went through all the line items on the BIQ System to ensure that all line items are correctly linked with the VAT indicators. Refer to the report on progress made with the Implementation and cascading of PMS Note:*The report status is supplied by the Auditor General and ranges from unqualified (at best); to unqualified with other matters specified; qualified; adverse; and disclaimed (at worse) T6.1.1
Auditor-General Report on Service Delivery Performance 2012/13 Audit Report Status*: Unqualified with matters of emphasis Non-Compliance Issues Measure taken to improve performance not supported by sufficient appropriate evidence Control deficiencies noted in the performance management system Performance indicator not well defined Material Adjustments to the annual performance report Reported performance targets not accurate Targets set are not realistic Remedial Action Taken Email sent to Departments requesting for the submission evidence on the explanation of variance (for over and under performance) and mitigation measures for 1st and 2nd quarter Performance Management SOP was submitted to EXCO, Portfolio Committee and will be presented at the next Mayoral Committee meeting Done On-going Quarterly meetings held with departments to address efficiencies Done T6.1.2
COMPONENT B: AUDITOR-GENERAL OPINION 2013/14 6.2 AUDITOR GENERAL REPORT 2013/14 Auditor-General Report on Financial Performance 2013/14 Unqualified Audit Report Status*: Non-Compliance Issues Significant uncertainties With reference to note 48 to the financial statements, the municipality is the defendant in various court cases. The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot presently be determined and no provision for any liability that may result has been made in the financial statements. Restatement of corresponding figures As disclosed in note 44 to the financial statements, the corresponding figures for 30 June 2013 have been restated as a result of errors discovered during 30 June 2014 in the financial statements of the Mogale City Local Municipality at, and for the year ended, 30 June 2013. Remedial Action Taken An adjustment will be made to the asset register to effect the change in location of the transformer. Item 1 & 2 journal entry will be put through removing the asset from PPE to Heritage. The necessary journal entry will be put through to rectify the error on the 2014 financial statements Material losses As disclosed in note 38 to the financial statements, material losses amounting to R77 539 902 (2013: R81 916 489) were incurred as a result of water distribution losses, which represent 44.0% (2013: 39.0%) of total water purchased. The total technical losses of water amounts to 15.0% (2013: 15.0%) and non-technical losses to 29.0% (2012: 24.0%). Material impairments As disclosed in note 4 to the financial statements, the allowance for impairment of consumer debtors was R624 171 719 (2013: R571 668 063). The recoverability of these amounts is doubtful The municipality has installed data loggers in its Water Conservation and Demand Management Program and these loggers assist the municipality in knowing the night flows which are used in identifying areas where water could be lost due to undetected leaks or illegal use Continue to vigorously implement the municipality s Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy Note:*The report status is supplied by the Auditor General and ranges from unqualified (at best); to unqualified with other matters specified; qualified; adverse; and disclaimed (at worse) T6.2.1
Auditor-General Report on Service Delivery Performance 2013/14 Audit Report Status*: Unqualified Non-Compliance Issues MCLM had complied with applicable legislation regarding the financial matters, financial management and other related matters Remedial Action Taken There were non-compliance issues T6.2.2 INTRODUCTION TO THE AUDITOR GENERAL S REPORT 1. AUDITOR GENERAL AUDIT OPINION FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS Mogale City Local Municipality has obtained a clean audit opinion meaning the municipality submitted financial statements that were free from material mis-statements, complied with legislation and no material findings were identified by AG on the usefulness and reliability of the reported performance information during 2013/14 Financial Year. The trends of audit opinion are as follows: 2006/07: Qualified 2007/08: Qualified 2008/09: Unqualified with 5 findings 2009/10: Qualified 2010/11: Qualified 2011/12: Unqualified with 3 findings 2012/13: Unqualified with 3 findings 2013/14: Unqualified with no findings (Clean Audit)
AUDITOR GENERAL REPORT 2013/14
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COMMENTS ON AUDITOR-GENERAL S OPINION 2013/14: The report of the Auditor General of South Africa is noted and welcomed. The municipality would earnestly consider the recommendations of the AG. Relevant action plans will be developed to ensure that the findings as raised in this financial year are addressed and will not be raised in the following financial year. This will also ensure that in terms of the performance, the municipality does improve. T6.2.4 COMMENTS ON MFMA SECTION 71 RESPONSIBILITIES: As per the requirements of MFMA section 71, Mogale City has submitted all In Year Financial Monitoring Reports to both National and Provincial Treasury. Signed (Chief financial Officer)... Dated T6.2.5