A (2) 7-
The position has considerably improved in 1931 and with the few exceptions referred to below the Statement of Assets and Liabilities may this year be taken as a complete account of the moneys in control of Government Officers on 31st December.
38. For instance, it was reported (para. 20) that certain Government Accounts through which considerable amounts passed were not incorporated at all in the Treasury books. During the year this has been remedied and the balances on 31st December of those accounts referred to have been included in the Assets and Liabilities with one exception, namely, $43,741.69 which was held by the Official Receiver in respect of a liquidation account; special circumstances led to its exclusion from the balance sheet and the account will probably close during the year.
39. All departments were instructed to remit their collections to the Treasury before the close of business on 31st December and, again with one exception, these instructions were followed. $4,450, collected by the Post Office in 1931 for Box-holders Fees in respect of the year 1932 was not paid into the Treasury until that year, and the amount does not therefore appear in the Colony's Cash Balance at the end of the year.
DEPARTMENTAL BANK ACCOUNTS.
(Paras. 16/19-1930 Report.)
40. Consequent on the issue of a Treasury Circular definite improvement was shown in the keeping of the departmental bank accounts though at the end of the year one department had overdrawn its account by writing salary cheques against a remittance from the Treasury which had not actually been paid in by the department.
41. The general position as regards these bank accounts, however, remains practically unaltered. The Honourable Treasurer advised the Government that the reduction of the number of bank accounts was a matter to be proceeded with slowly and he was unprepared to recommend for the present any serious reduction in their number. Consequently it is again necessary to point out that a considerable amount of money was charged in the year's accounts which had not in fact been disbursed.
42. In order to ascertain to what extent this existed an inspection was made by officers of this department of the Treasurer's and all departmental Cash Books as soon as possible after the close of the year. This inspection took one or two days and it is therefore not possible to give exact figures as they actually stood at the close of business on the last day of the year but the amount was well in excess of $150,000. This amount does not include Outstanding Cheques which naturally cannot be avoided and are a correct charge against the date.