Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 525: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the process whereby the accounts of institutes of technology are processed; if it is normal for the Comptroller and Auditor General's Office to finalise these accounts pending final presentation to a governing body for approval and submission; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18533/06]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 526: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the date the 2004 accounts for Carlow Institute of Technology were forwarded to the Comptroller and Auditor General's office for finalisation, as referred to by the director of Carlow IT in a submission to the Public Accounts Committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18536/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 525 and 526 together.

The Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992 and Dublin Institute of Technology Act 1992 provide for the audit of the accounts of the institutes of technology by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Section 16(2) of the RTC Act and section 17(2) of the DIT Act require the institutes to submit accounts annually to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit. The responsibility for drafting the accounts and ensuring that they present a true and fair view of the Institute's financial performance for the year, and of its state of affairs at year end rests with the Institute. The Comptroller and Auditor General's responsibility is to audit the accounts and to give a report expressing his opinion on whether the accounts do indeed give a true and fair view.

The Steps in the process are as follows: Annual Accounts of an Institute of Technology are prepared in the institute and submitted in draft form to the Comptroller and Auditor General's office. Before the Comptroller and Auditor General attaches his opinion to the accounts, the final version, incorporating adjustments arising out of audit, must be approved by the Governing Body. This requirement derives from Auditing Standards.

In practice, draft accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and, in the course of audit, matters identified which require adjustment are agreed between the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Institute. When all adjustments have been made to the accounts to the mutual satisfaction of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Office and the Institute, the Comptroller and Auditor General's Office requests the Institute to submit the amended accounts to the Governing Body for approval. Following approval, the Institute forwards to the Comptroller and Auditor General three copies of the amended accounts adopted by the Governing Body. The Comptroller and Auditor General then issues his audit report which is sent to the Institute with one copy of the accounts. The Institute then forwards a signed copy of the accounts to my Department with the Comptroller and Auditor General's report.

As regards the Annual Accounts for 2004 from the Institute of Technology, Carlow, I can confirm that the Comptroller and Auditor General's Office received these accounts in draft form on 31 August 2005 and that they received the amended accounts on 5 May 2006 and the C & AG issued his report on 11 May 2006.