News in brief

International Journal of Government Auditing, Jul 1998

Barbados

1997 Annual Report

The Barbados Audit Office submitted its 1997 Annual Report to Parliament on December31,1997. The report consisted primarily of the findings of audits of government ministries and departments. Among the findings were that some revenue collecting departments were unable to determine arrears of revenues due to deficiencies in the recording of collectable revenues. It also highlighted insufficient, independent checks to identify or restrict occurrences of fraud and embezzlement.

The report also referred to several programs that had exceeded the total amount of expenditure voted by the Parliament, thus resulting in a breach of government's financial rules. The majority of accounts, however, received unqualified opinions as they were generally reliable and in compliance with legal mandates.

The report also noted that some persons engaged in accounting functions in several ministries and departments were inadequately trained for the their responsibilities, and that this resuited in accounting errors and late submissions of accounts. The Auditor General used the report to propose several amendments to the legislation governing financial management, including a provision for the Audit Office to conduct value-for-money audits. The government is currently considering the proposed amendments.

For more information, contact: The Audit Office, Nicholas House, Broad Street, Bridgetown, Barbados.

Canada

Environment Commissioner Issues 2nd Annual Report

Canada's Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development has issued his second annual report to Parliament, and in it indicates that he is "deeply troubled" by the federal govemment's performance to date on the environment "Vision and leadership are the two essential ingredients for tackling environmental challenges that face a government," said the Commissioner. "While Canada has demonstrated vision, it is failing in implementing it. What really concerns me is that far too often the government is not keeping the promises it makes both to Canadians and to the world." The Office of the Commissioner was created by the amended Audit Act of 1995 which established the position as part of the Office of the Auditor General but with separate reporting responsibility to the Parliamment.

The report, tabled on May 26, 1998, contains the results of work in the following areas: climate change, biological diversity, and environmental assessments. The report for the first time also assesses sustainable development strategies of 28 federal departments and agencies. In addition, the Commissioner reports on the results of studies in areas such as accounting for sustainable development, performance measurement, and the experience of leading private sector organizations worldwide in sustainable development planning.

The report also points out that while Canada is party to over 200 legally binding international agreements dealing with environmental and sustainable development, the government does not systematically track its international environmental commitments. As a consequence, the government does not have an overall picture of how good a job it is doing at meeting the obligations it has undertaken. Specifically, the reports notes that information on Canada's actions to follow through on its international commitments is scattered throughout several departments and is not easily accessible. In an effort to improve accountability, the Commissioner is constructing, with the collaboration of federal departments, a publicly accessible data base of Canada's international environmental commitments; the first phase of this data base is available at the Office of the Auditor General's web site (www.oag-bvg.gc.ca).

For more information on the report, contact: Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, clo Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 240 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Canada K1AOG6 (e-mail: mcduffyjo@oagbvg.gc.ca).

China

New Auditor General

Mr. Li Jinhua was appointed Auditor General of China in March 1998, by the President of the People's Republic of China with the approval of the Ninth National People's Congress. Mr. Li graduated in 1966 from the Central University of Finance and Economics with a degree in finance and banking, and has had a rich and varied career since then. He has served as a university lecturer, an accountant for an aviation industrial enterprise, and deputy director and director of a factory. From 1983-93, Mr. Li studied in the Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, after which he served as director-general of the Economic and Trade Office of Shaanxi Province. He was subsequently promoted to the post of Deputy Auditor General, the position he held until his recent appointment as Auditor General. In addition, Mr. Li has been an auditor and guest professor at the Nankei University and the Central University of Finance and Economics.

Mr. Li was elected as a member of the Central Disciplinary Committee at the 14th Party Congress, and the following year was elected as a member of the Central Committee at the l5th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. For more information, contact: National Audit Office of the People's Republic of China, 1 Beiluyuan,Zhanlan Road, Xicheng District, Beijing 100037, China.