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83
You will be able to answer a question that was put to me.
When a
shroff receives a sum of money for and on behalf of payment to
Government what sort of record does he himself make, what ought he
to make?
He should debit himself in his cash book.
He keeps a subsidiary cash book?
Either in that or in a main cash book.
A.
Q.
A.
Q.
A.
Yes.
Q
•
So from the very first stage there would be a written record?
-
So that was what was missing here the entries in the cash book
could not be checked, and you were unable to ascertain whether they
were correct or not because the subsidiary records were not kept?
what I saw was a cash book
A.
I did not see any subsidiary records
the entries in which were in bulk.
A.
You reported on this in due course to the Director of Colonial Audit?
Yes. I pointed out that I did not consider an audit was
practicable and also sent certain extracts concerning points which
had been raised by the Accountant General and Financial Secretary.
You sent the report to Government?
Q.
A.
Yes, as I did not consider an audit was practicable.
Q.
A.
Q.
A.
Q.
You have that report before you?
Yes.
(Mr. Pollard here read his report, which was also laid
before the Commissioners as a confidential paper).
Have you attempted any audit since then?
No, I did not think it was possible. Conditions may have improved
but I doubt it very much without making a complete investigation.
You mean that you will not be able to go back to the start of the
department you have to draw a line somewhere and begin from
there?
G
That is my impression at present, without going further into it.
Is there so far as you can see any inherent difficulty in the
financial work of this new department which would make an
essentially simple form of book-keeping impossible or unusually
difficult?
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