Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the action he has taken to ensure that non-commercial State agencies comply with their requirement to present draft un-audited annual accounts to their parent Department and the Department of Finance no later than two months after the end of their financial year. [28239/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Public accountability requires that accounts be produced and audited within a reasonable timeframe. The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies requires that draft unaudited annual accounts for each State body should be furnished to its relevant Department and to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform not later than two months after the end of the relevant financial year.

In response to issues raised by the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General regarding delays in account production and submission, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issued a circular to all Departments (4/2011) which highlighted the need for timely production of accounts of State bodies and funds under the aegis of Government Departments and Offices and their subsequent submission to their parent Department, along with the laying of such reports before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Circular 4/11 specifies a time limit of (i) one month for bodies to submit their accounts to the parent Department after the C&AG has issued his audit certificate and (ii) two months for Departments to lay the accounts of bodies before the Houses after the accounts are received by Departments. As outlined in the Circular, Departments are responsible for the compliance of all bodies under their aegis with the relevant requirements. In this context, Departments were requested to ensure that all relevant bodies under their aegis were notified of and fulfil these requirements.