Principal Secretaries and chief executive officers of State corporations will not be allowed to reopen audit queries by presenting fresh documents which ought to have been submitted to the Auditor-General for scrutiny during the audit cycle.
The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) ruled that from the audit of the national government for the financial year 2022/23, Principal Secretaries and accounting officers of agencies will only be allowed to respond to audit queries and not to reopen the same by producing new documents.
“We have resolved as PAC that beginning 2022/23 financial year, we will only deal with the audit queries as presented by the Auditor-General. We will not use this House to reopen auditing by presenting new documents or evidence that ought to have been presented during the audit process,” John Mbadi, who chairs the committee, ruled.
“We must decide when to close the audit. Once the auditors come to you, provide all the necessary supporting documents. You cannot fail to provide documents to the auditors and come here to present the same. We are not auditors.”
The committee said most Principal Secretaries deny auditors the requisite documentation during audits but bombard MPs with voluminous documents when they appear to respond to audit queries. The team made the decision during the examination of the report of the Auditor-General on the accounts of the State Department for Medical Services for the year to June 2022. Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai sought more time to present additional information to back his responses to the committee.
The team adjourned its morning and afternoon sittings to allow Mr Kimtai to table the papers.
“We are going to submit additional information to the office of the Auditor-General. I want to assure this committee that all documents that we have submitted here and to the auditors are correct and authentic,” said Kimtai.
Mr Mbadi adjourned the sitting slated for the afternoon to allow the department to prepare.
Mr Kimtai told the committee that all Principal Secretaries and accounting officers have received a circular from the Head of Public Service Felix Koskei on the need to present zero-fault audits, also known as clean audits going forward.
“We have received a circular from the Head of Public Service where accounting officers have been given direction of zero fault audit. We will be providing all documents to the Auditor-General during the audit cycle,” Mr Kimtai said.
The National Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo had in September 2022 also written to all Principal Secretaries and chief executive officers (CEOs) of State Corporations on zero fault audit regime.
The government directed that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) ensure that they close all outstanding audit issues raised by the office of Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu in her reports for the preceding financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23.
“You are further required to submit proof of closure of these issues directly to the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service by October 2, 2023,” Mr Kiptoo said in a letter dated September 2022.
