Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Public Accounts Committee

2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 19 - Official Development Assistance
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade
Vote 29 - International Co-operation

10:50 am

Mr. William Carlos:

With hindsight, possibly yes. What was identified in Uganda goes back to the area of risk. We concentrated a major amount of resources in ensuring the money moved through the system at the local level. In examining what happened in the central bank, we saw that as a low risk and the money was expected to go through. It is a question of tracking those funds. The report highlighted ways of strengthening the system to improve the way we are working. Audit is quite a blunt instrument in that it highlights key issues to be addressed. With regard to the receipts mentioned earlier, in the financial procedures manual more detail needs to be given on the level of detail required when receipts are received.