The association believes that when the 2017-2018 Audited Financial Statements for council were presented for adoption on January 20th, 2019, council officials, including the General Manager & Director, Business & Governance (DBG) knew that the statements were not an accurate reflection of the council’s financial standing for the period & that they contained serious inaccuracies.
The association does not know if the elected council had been made aware of the above circumstances prior to resolving to adopt the Audited Financial Statements however, if they were aware, then the association believes that they were complicit in the deception of residents & ratepayers as to council’s financial performance.
If the councillors were not aware of the inaccuracies contained in the financial statements, then it would seem clear that they were misled by council officials & the association believes that serious disciplinary action against those officials is warranted.
Either way, the elected council failed in its responsibility to ensure that the financial statements were prepared & presented in accordance with the NSW Local Government Act 1993 & Regulations, the Local Government Code of Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting & the Australian Accounting Standards.
According to council,
"The Audited Financial Statements are one of the key points of accountability between Council and our community. Through the promotion of these statements, Council is able to demonstrate financial transparency."
Council’s actions make a mockery of that claim.
The association was both surprised & disappointed by the OLG's refusal to act on its complaint, in particular as the OLG sought to justify its decision on its assertion that the discrepancies were not significant, leaving the association to conclude that the OLG’s decisions were based on expediency rather than principle.
The OLG’s response naturally caused the association to wonder just how big a financial discrepancy would need to be before the OLG would consider it important enough to intervene: $5M, $10M, $20M, $50M or even $100M?
Indeed, why bother to have financial statements at all? Why bother to have systems, processes, regulations or standards? Why bother about accountability? Why not let public officials, elected or otherwise, do whatever they like? It certainly seems that they are already trying to do exactly that anyway.
The association is now delighted to confirm that the
OLG has reconsidered its earlier stated position & has now confirmed that it “
has written to Council suggesting they report to an open Council Meeting on the issues you have raised and provide an amended Income Statement and budget variation report.”
The association expects that council will act promptly on the advice of the OLG.
The association is looking forward to the elected council conducting a review of the adequacy of council’s management controls so as to ensure that future councils can be confident that they are meeting their responsibilities on behalf of residents & ratepayers.
The association is also looking forward to the elected councillors confirming whether they knew about the errors contained in the financial statements when they resolved to accept them & if they did, what explanation they might offer for their behaviour?
If the elected councillors were not aware of the errors contained in the financial statements when they resolved to accept them, the association looks forward to their prompt pursuit of disciplinary action against the responsible council officials, not only for misleading the elected council, but the residents & ratepayers of the shire.
The association believes that if the elected council fails to accept responsibility for this matter, its standing in the eyes of the community will be no better than that of the council officials responsible for creating the situation.
The association also believes that it is important to acknowledge & thank the OLG for recognising & accepting its responsibilities by requiring council officials to publicly acknowledge & remedy their improper actions.
John Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
Tel: 0264945669
Email: secretary@begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au
Website: http://www.begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au
CC: NSW Auditor-General
Office of Local Government
The Minister for Local Government