The International Monetary Fund has pointed out to the government that the audits of fifty-two government agencies have not been done properly for several years. Therefore, before the end of July, they have informed the Government of Sri Lanka that all those institutions should undergo a full audit under the Auditor General of the Government.
Among the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund in granting loans to Sri Lanka . The audit of these fifty-two public institutions has been emphasized and accordingly, the report has informed that the audit reports related to 2021/2022 should be submitted before July.
It is revealed that the audit was not carried out due to the failure of the secretaries of the ministries in charge of government institutions to provide the financial statements of those institutions to the Auditor General.
Auditor General W. P. C. Wickramaratne says that some institutions, including some public financial institutions, do not provide financial statements properly, so their audits may be delayed.
Internal sources of the National Audit Office state that certain corporations and statutory bodies including the Paddy Marketing Board, Urban Development Authority have failed to submit the relevant annual financial statements to the Auditor General for a period of four to five years and some financial statements are received after three to four years.
Internal sources in the audit office confirm that the audit of fifty-two government institutions has not been done because the secretaries of the ministries did not fulfill that responsibility properly, and that the accusation made by the International Monetary Fund is true.