Page 33.
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yet been submitted for audit. With this exception, however, the examination of the accounts has been completed and subject to the caments which appear elsewhere in this report, the accounts have been kept and rendered in a satisfactory manner. Surprise audit surveys of cash balances held at the Railway headquarters, and at stations, were satisfactory and call for no comment.
153. Custodian of Property. The accounts of the Custodian of Property have been examined for the year 1947 and a separate report has been furnished to the Director General of Colonial Audit in accordance with standing instructions.
154. Schemes under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act. The Statement for the financial period under review has been examined and a separate report thereon has been sent to the Director General of Colonial Audit.
155. Hong Kong Exchange Fund.
With reference to paragraph 8 of
the Report of the Director of Colonial Audit on the Accounts of Hong Kong for the period ended 30th April, 1946, the accounts of the Exchange Fund for the period of the Occupation of the Colony up to 31st December, 1945, were written up in London from the Crown Agents schedules by the Accountant to the Hong Kong Exchange Fund. The accounts are now kept in Hong Kong but it appears that the Crown Agents schedules supporting the accounts for the period up to the 31st December, 1945, cannot be traced, though they appear to have been sent to Hong Kong. In the meantime, the audit of the accounts for this period cannot be completed and it has been suggested to the Secretary of the Hong Kong Exchange Fund that application should now be made to the Crown Agents for photostat copies of the necessary schedules covering the period up to 31st December, 1945. In the meantime, the examination of the accounts of the Exchange Fund for the year ended 31st December, 1946, has been undertaken by this Department but, pending the complete verification of the accounts for the period ended 31st December, 1945, it is not possible to complete the examination and report on the accounts for the year ended the 31st December, 1946.
156. Fisheries & Vegetable Marketing Schemes. The question of the status of these two schemes was raised with Government with a view to ascertaining the responsibility of this Department for the audit of the accounts of the schemes. The matter was referred to the Secretary of State who has agreed, in his Savingram No.126 of the 14th February, 1948, that, as the schemes are in the nature of co-operative ventures, the accounts may be excluded from the operation of Colonial Regulation No.273 and that there is no objection to the audit being carried out by a commercial firm of qualified Auditors provided the Director of Audit is free to inspect the accounts and to call for any vouchers if he wishes. The matter is being kept in view.
QUERIES
157. Details of outstanding queries in respect of the period 1946/47, at the 25th August, 1948, are set out below:-
Supplies, Trade & Industry Police Department
Medical Department
30
4
Harbour Department
Treasury
6
Stores Department
Custodian of Property
Public Works Department
Hongkong Volunteer Defence Corps
6
Sanitary Department
1
Kowloon Canton Railway
2
Royal Observatory
TOTAL
76
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