PHILIPSBURG:--- The General Audit Chamber presented its audit report entitled Compliance Audit: 2019 Financial Statements St. Maarten to Parliament today. By law, the General Audit Chamber examines whether Government is legally compliant and effective in its spending of St. Maarten's public funds. Our report is a critical element for understanding Government's financial results. The Financial Statements optimally should provide a clear picture of the Government's financial management and position over 2019.
Our opinion is that the 2019 Financial Statements are not a true and fair representation of the Government's income and expenses or the financial position as of December 31, 2019. We found irregularities and deficiencies in the 2019 Financial Statements. There are expenses without a corresponding budget, and revenue was either unrealized or under budget.
For 2019, the shortcomings and errors resulted in an adverse (negative) opinion from the Government's internal auditor, SOAB. This means that the financial statements failed to comply with legal requirements. The General Audit Chamber agrees with the opinion of the internal auditor.
There is some optimism to report. The 2019 Financial Statements are the third set of statements presented within a year. Despite the delayed presentation of the current financial statements, the Government is working on reducing the backlog.
We hope that with the plans defined in the Country Packages, Government's financial management will systematically improve and, by extension, the quality of the financial statements.
The report is published in both English and Dutch and is available on the website of the General Audit Chamber (www.arsxm.org).
