Backlog burden worsens

The majority of municipal corporations across the country are still struggling to rid themselves of a backlog of outstanding financial statements, which, in some instances, extends to more than a decade ago.

However, the Manchester Municipal Corporation was acknowledged for submitting its financial statements with only the current year due.

Deputy Auditor General Marlon McAdam told members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday that the local authorities had accumulated 95 outstanding financial statements up to March 2025.

He said this was compared to the 86 financial statements that were outstanding when the administrative heads of municipal corporations appeared before the PAC last year.

One of the reasons given by some chief executive officers (CEOs) for delays in completing outstanding financial statements is the absence of accounting records. In one instance, it was reported that the documents had been damaged by insects and water.

Naudia Crosskill, CEO of the St James Municipal Corporation, said the local authority submitted three of the six outstanding financial statements to the auditor general yesterday.

She told the committee that the municipality had outsourced the services of an accounting firm to complete the balance of outstanding financial statements. Several of the CEOs reported that they had taken a similar approach to eliminating the backlog of financial statements.

Crosskill vowed that the municipalities would not find themselves in a state of chronic delinquency when they show up to report on their stewardship next year.

Marsha Henry-Martin, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, said one of the challenges facing the municipal corporations is the delay in the implementation of financial accounting software to assist them in preparing their financial statements.

However, she said the procurement exercise to obtain the accounting software was well advanced.

PAC members Chris Brown and Peter Bunting wanted clear and definitive directives as to how the issue of the missing documents would be resolved as their non-submission was preventing the auditor general from reporting to the country on the proper use of public funds by the municipal corporations.

McAdam told the committee that where records did not exist, the department could not provide an opinion. He added, however, that in instances where the municipal corporations submitted some records, the auditor general would indicate that except for the missing records, the accounts were true and fair.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com