On The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of ...

1 Management Letter On The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning & economic affairs For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 Yusador S. Gaye CPA, CGMA Auditor General, Monrovia, Liberia Management Letter On The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning & economic affairs For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 1 Promoting Accountability of Public Resources Table of Contents 1 DETAILED REPORT .. 5 Introduction .. 5 Mandate of Ministry of planning and economic affairs .. 5 Key Personnel of the MPEA .. 6 Audit Objectives .. 6 Management s Responsibility for the Financial Statements .. 7 Auditor General s Responsibility .. 7 Audit Scope and Methodology .. 8 Limitation of Responsibility .. 8 Detailed Findings and Recommendations.

2 9 Financial Issues .. 9 Non-Compliance with IPSAS Reporting Framework .. 9 Non-Maintenance of Accounting Manual and Policy .. 10 Operational Issues .. 12 Unretired Travel Advances .. 12 Internal Control Issues .. 13 Non-Existence of Standardize Fixed Asset Register .. 13 Ineffective Internal Audit Function .. 14 Non-Existence of Storeroom Procedures .. 15 Non-existence of Audit Committee .. 17 Failure to Perform Risk Assessment 18 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .. 19 ANNEXURE .. 20 Management Letter On The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning & economic affairs For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 2 Promoting Accountability of Public Resources Acronyms Used Acronym Meaning AG Auditor General CGMA Chartered Global Management Letter CPA Certified Public Accountant FAR Fixed Asset Register FY Fiscal Year GAC General Auditing Commission GoL Government of Liberia IPSAS International Public Sector Accounting Standards LD Liberian Dollars LDC Liberia Development Alliance LIMPAC Liberia Microeconomic Policy & Development Project LRDC Liberia Reconstruction & Development Commission MOF Ministry of Finance MPEA Ministry of planning and economic affairs NAO National Authorizing Office PPCC Public Procurement and Concession Committee PPCU Population Policy Coordination Unit TSF Travel Settlement Form USD United States Dollar Management Letter On

3 The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning & economic affairs For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 3 Promoting Accountability of Public Resources Management Letter on the Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning and economic affairs for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 April 26, 2016 Hon. Amara M. Konneh, Minister of Finance & Development planning Republic of Liberia We have completed the audit of the Ministry of planning and economic affairs for the year ended June 30, 2012. The issues raised in this Report are the result of the review and analyses of documents made available to the audit team by the management of the Ministry of planning and economic affairs . Scope and Determination of Responsibility The audit was conducted in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs).

4 Those standards require that the audit is planned and performed so as to obtain reasonable assurance that the annual Financial Statements are presented fairly in all material respect. It is worth noting that the Ebola outbreak has greatly impeded the timely planning , execution and reporting of the audit since many of the workforce were sent off work as a measure to curtail the spread of the outbreak. An audit includes: Examination on a test basis of evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the Financial Statements ; Assessment of the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management; and Evaluation of the overall Financial Statements presentation. The audit also included an examination, on a test basis, of evidence supporting compliance in all material respects with the relevant laws and regulations which came to our attention and are applicable to Financial matters.

5 The matters mentioned in this Management Letter are therefore those that were identified through tests considered necessary for the purpose of the audit and it is possible that there might be other matters and/or weaknesses that were not identified. Management Letter On The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning & economic affairs For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 4 Promoting Accountability of Public Resources The Financial Statements , maintenance of effective control measures and compliance with laws and regulations are the responsibility of the Management of the Ministry of Finance. Our responsibility is to express our opinion on these Financial Statements . Management Comments The comments provided to the Management Letter by management are inserted verbatim underneath the issues being responded to.

6 Additional evidences provided were evaluated and to the extent that those evidences adequately addressed the findings, the issues were dropped from the report. Where appropriate we provided clarity to issues which in our view needed to be clarified. Appreciation We would like to express our appreciation for the courtesy extended and assistance rendered by the staff of the Ministry of planning and economic affairs during the audit. Sincerely, Management Letter On The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning & economic affairs For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 5 Promoting Accountability of Public Resources 1 DETAILED REPORT Introduction The Ministry of planning and Economics affairs audit was undertaken by the Auditor-General of Liberia following a request by the Minister of Finance and Development planning .

7 The request was made after the merger of the Ministry of planning and Economics affairs and the Ministry of Finance by an Act of the National Legislature which took effect on July 1, 2014. The audit was commissioned on July 1, 2014 by the Auditor-General under the statutory mandate as provided for under Chapter of the Executive Law. The audit covered fiscal year of operations from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. The audit was undertaken by a team of Auditors drawn from the General Auditing Commission (GAC). Mandate of Ministry of planning and economic affairs The Ministry of planning and economic affairs (MPEA) was established by an Act of the National Legislature on February 14, 1976, following an amendment of the 1966 Act that established the Department of planning and economic affairs .

8 The Ministry s primary role is to support planning and economic Policy, foster promote and develop the Liberian economy . The MPEA had three (3) operating Departments, Regional and Sectorial planning , Administration and Economics affairs and Policy. The Department of Regional and Sectorial planning had oversight responsibility to coordinate the operations of Sectorial planning Office, Regional planning Office, Population Policy Coordination Unit (PPCU), and Liberia Microeconomic and Development Project (LIMPAC). The Department of Regional and Sectorial planning also coordinates the operations of the Liberia Reconstruction Development Committee (LRDC). The LRDC was not reflected on the organizational chart submitted for audit. The Liberia Reconstruction Development Committee (LRDC) was a major implementer of programs and projects undertaken by the MPEA for the period under audit.

9 The LRDC was established in early 2006 to serve as a forum between the development partners and senior government officials, and coordinate development agenda of Liberia. The LRDC was headed by a Steering Committee, chaired by the President with the Minister of planning and economic affairs as the National Coordinator. The LRDC Secretariat is charged with aid coordination, coordinating the implementation and monitoring of the Lift Liberia agenda or Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). The LRDC Management Letter On The Restated Financial Statements of the Ministry of planning & economic affairs For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 6 Promoting Accountability of Public Resources was transformed into Liberia Development Alliance (LDA) on January 23, 2013.

10 The Department of economic affairs and Policy responsible to undertake economic planning and policy formulation The Department of Administration was also responsible to provide administrative guidance for the effective operations of the MPEA. Key Personnel of the MPEA Key personnel of MPEA are indicated in the table below: Table 1: Name Title / Position Held Tenure Amara M. Konneh Minister 2011-2014 Marcus Dahn Deputy Minister for Administration 2011-2014 James Dorbor Jallah Deputy Minister for Sectoral and Regional planning 2011-2012 Jeremiah Sokan Deputy Minister for Sectoral and Regional planning 2011-2012 Sebastian Muah Deputy Minister for economic affairs Policy 2011-2012 Nathan Reeves Comptroller 2011-2013 James N. Samokah Director Procurement 2008-July 1, 2014 Dr.