Reference :-
C.O.885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
21 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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42. The Auditor will not undertake any examination of Accounts partaking of the nature of pre-audit and thus accept a responsibility which would preclude him from full criticism of Any transactions after they have been duly recorded in the account books of the Colony.
43. The examination of accounts, which will be carried out either at the local audit offices or at the offices of the various Accounting Officers, as may be most convenient, will be, as far as possible, conducted direct from the books of the various Accounting Officers.
44. It is not within the province of an Auditor to exercise such a check upon the details of the transactions of the Treasurer's Sub-Accountants as would enable him to take upon himself the responsibility for the accuracy of their books and thus relieve the Treasurer and the Heads of Departments of a responsibility which properly rests with them, yet such an examination will be applied by the Auditor to these accounts as will enable him to ascertain that the departmental books are kept on a correct system, that they are punctually and properly posted, and that the checks against irregularity or fraud in connection therewith ure effective and adequate.
45. The Auditor's duties will, therefore, include local inspec- tions of the books and accounts of the Treasurer's Sub- Accountants, and these inspections, which will be conducted in accordance with the authorised Programme, or carried out specially as circumstances may render necessary, will be as far as possible in the nature of surprise visits.
46. In the course of his inspections of the books of the Treasurer's Sub-Accountants it will be the duty of the Auditor to verify the existence of the balances of cash and stamps and to test the accuracy of the balance of stores in the hands of such Officers and to ascertain whether adequate accommodation exists for the safe custody of cash, stamps, and stores.
47. It will, as a general rule, be impossible for the Auditor to take complete stock of the stores in an Officer's charge. He will therefore carry out a test examination of a certain number of items and, if the examination discloses discrepancies, he will report the circumstances to the Head of the Department con- cerned and will inform the Director of Colonial Audit of the action taken on his report. If the discrepancies are serious he will also report the circumstances to the Governor.
48. In checking the balance of a periodical account it will be seen (1) that the opening balance agrees with the closing balance of the preceding account; (2) that the balance does not exceed the authorised limit and does not appear to be excessive as com- pared with the requirements of the service; and (3) that the balance at the end of the financial year is capable of complete verification.
49. Investments will be verified quarterly by comparison with the certified statements forwarded to the Colony by the Secretary of State.
50. Any errors occurring in the classification of receipts and payments on account of revenue or expenditure can only be adjusted before the final accounts of the year are closed. In the
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event of any such errors being discovered in the course of audit after the account for the year has been closed the facts relating to them will be notified to the Treasurer for information and record only.
bl. In the examination of charges on account of salary and other recurrent payments it will be ascertained that the period for which payment is made has been taken up correctly, that the payments are at the authorised rates, and that no increases or additional payments have been made except under complete authority.
52. The vouchers recording the first payments of salary to Officers should be accompanied in each case by the authority for the appointment.
53. Salaries for broken periods should be computed with refer- ence to the number of days in the quarter, month or week, in accordance with the period for which such payments are made in full.
54. The Auditor will ascertain in the case of all appointments to public offices, changes in the holders of existing offices, alterations made in the salaries and allowances of public Officers, and payments of an unusual or special description, that the facts have been noted in the quarterly returns furnished to the Secretary of State in accordance with Colonial Regulations Nos. 396 and 397. For this purpose the local office copies of these returns will be available for inspection by the Auditor on his requisition, and he will be informed by the Director of Colonial Audit of any questions that may arise affecting the admissibility of any of the charges included in such returns. In the absence of any intimation to the contrary, it will be assumed that the transactions notified in the returns have been sanctioned by the Secretary of State.
55. Whenever evidence of a specific authority for a payment is required, a duly certified copy of, or an extract from, such authority may be accepted, provided that such extract evidently contains the whole of the necessary evidence.
66. Erasures should not appear in any accounts. Any neces- sary corrections should be made only by ruling out the figures to be altered and writing the correct figures above, the corrections being attested by the initials of the responsible Officer.
57. A "Guide Book
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for each account will be kept which will contain a clear and succinct history of the account and will record the laws or other authorities which govern and regulate the receipts and payments comprised in the account. It will also contain references to all decisions or orders affecting the account and the nature of the examination to be given to it. Auditors will be responsible for seeing that the Guide Books are well arranged and properly kept up.
58. Every person engaged on the examination of accounts will be supplied with a Journal or Observation Book in which he will record, as the examination proceeds, the facts relating to any transaction coming under his notice which appears to be erroneous, insufficiently authorised, incorrectly classified, or for any other reason to require action or further explanation. He