Executive Summary
The Services Improvement Program (SIP) was designed for an holistic approach to service delivery in the province. The key principles of the SIP encompass greater ownership, affordability, sustainability and optimum resource utilization among others. Underpinning the key principles is the Government’s Policy on “Achieving National Equity in Development through the Strengthening of Basic Service Infrastructure” consistent with the principles of the MTDP (2010-2015), DSP (2010-2030) and Vision 2050. The audit of both the PSIP and DSIP in East New Britain remains to be brought up to current provided there is sufficient program budgetary support as the PSIP is in arrears for up to four years. DSIP audits for Gazelle, Kokopo and Rabaul Districts are in arrears for nine years while Pomio District is five years in arrears.
The Provincial Government five – year Corporate Plan and ten-year Strategic Development Plan had been developed and linked together with emphasis on the Strategic Result Areas, purposely to achieve the provincial government’s vision of sustainable social and economic development with equitable service delivery to the people of East New Britain focussed on:
- Governance and Management;
- Health;
- Economic Development;
- Education;
- Social Development;
- Infrastructure;
- Land Mobilization;
- HIV/AIDS Response; and
- Disaster Response
The Provincial Government’s Vision Statement under the ten-year Strategic Development Plan specifically stresses the necessity to strengthen the ability of the people as the ‘drivers’ of development thus empowering them as an essential vehicle to growth and in order for the province to develop in a sustainable manner. The core business of the provincial government is therefore:
- to create a policy environment for the creation of employment opportunities for the people of East New Britain;
- to provide the parameters for planning and programming at the sectorial level on a mid-term basis; and
- to influence the way all other stakeholders are doing their businesses in the province.
Audit Objective and Nature of Audit
Audit Objective
The audit of ENBPG for the year ended 31 December, 2016 was planned and performed in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) as promulgated by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) with the objectives of:
- to obtaining reasonable assurance on the integrity and reliability of its financial statements and other information contained therein, to determine compliance to disclosure requirements issued under Finance Instructions; the effectiveness of the internal controls systems in place; and determining the extent of compliance with applicable laws, regulations and directives. The audit procedures applied were intended to reveal system weaknesses as well as the steps being undertaken to improve its performance for better service delivery.
- to objectively inform the stakeholders about the performance of the provincial government during the year under review; reliability and effectiveness of its corporate governance; status of its current and future development programs, if any; and control weaknesses as well as the steps being undertaken to improve its performance for better service delivery.
Audit Scope
In performing the statutory audit responsibility, the limited resources of this Office were directed primarily to the evaluation of internal controls system together with such other examinations as were considered necessary to examine the performance of financial operations. The audit included review of financial statements and budgetary controls, ascertain correctness of cash & bank balances; examination on a sample basis, the revenue and paid accounts in general; review of expenditures associated with grants and subsidies, capital works and maintenance, assets management, cash advances; review effectiveness of the Provincial Supply & Tenders Board; the Corporate Governance arrangements and internal controls in place during the year under review at the time the audit was conducted.
Nature of Audit
Compliance with relevant legislation is of paramount importance in safeguarding the State’s assets. As such, the audit of the East New Britain Provincial Government included reviews and tests to ascertain whether key provisions of the Public Finances (Management) Act, 1995 (as amended) 2016 (PFMA) and Audit Act, 1989 (as amended) had been adhered to.
The nature of an audit is generally influenced by factors such as the use of professional judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatements of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. The audit is not required to search specifically for fraud and therefore, cannot be relied upon to disclose all such matters. However, the audit of East New Britain Provincial Government for the year ended 31 December, 2016 was planned and executed so that I can have a reasonable expectation of detecting material misstatements resulting from irregularities, including fraud.