INTRODUCTION
The audit of the accounts of the Hong Kong Government is carried out under the terms of the Audit Ordinance, which provides for the appointment, tenure of office, duties and powers of the Director of Audit, for the submission of annual statements by the Director of Accounting Services, for the examination and audit of those statements by the Director of Audit, and for the submission of his report thereon to the Governor as the President of the Legislative Council. The statements required by Section 11 to be rendered by the Director of Accounting Services have been examined and audited in accordance with the Ordinance.
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Scope of Audit. My audit is conducted in accordance with a programme of work which is determined annually and which is intended to provide an overall assurance of the general accuracy and propriety of the Government's financial and accounting transactions and not to disclose each and every accounting error or financial irregularity. With the considerable volume and variety of Government revenue and expenditure, this examination of accounts is of necessity carried out by means of selective test checks and in-depth reviews designed to indicate possible areas of weakness, reliance for detailed checks on the regularity of the accounts being placed largely on the systems of internal control operated by individual departments.
STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS
REVENUE
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Arrears of Revenue. As at 31 March 1985 arrears of revenue were reported as totalling $2,204 million of which $1,505 million was listed as still outstanding at 30 June 1985. The increase in the arrears at the latter date over the corresponding figure in the previous year represented a rise of 12%.