OAuGF 2017 Audited Annual Report; Auditor-General's Qualified Report

Thursday, July 16, 2020 / 06:47 AM / By TheAnalyst / OAuGF / Header Image Credit: Ecographics

The Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF), Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine, FCA,on Monday, 22^nd July, 2019 submitted the 591-page 2017 Annual Reportand qualified opinion of the Auditor General for the Federation on the accountsof the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the year ended 31^stDecember, 2017.

This was in accordance with section 85(2) and (5) of the Constitution ofthe Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

We recall that the annual report for the 2019 Auditor General's reportwas equally submitted to the National Assembly on Thursday 21st June, 2018; a743 page qualified report.

This was the second year in a row (since we started tracking thereport) that qualified opinions have been issued in the annual reports ofthe federation; and as we look forward to the timeline of submission; ouranalysts will be reviewing the reports to identify specific areas ofconcerns and material incidences with a view to tracking steps needed or beingtaken to address them.

Worthy of note must be professional commitment by the staff and membersof the AuGF's Annual Report Writing Committees for providing somepredictability around when reports are released. Based on this timing however,we look forward to the 2018 Audited Report.

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Download the591-page, 2017 Auditor General's Report Here

The 2017 OAuGF Report - AUDITOR-GENERAL'SCERTIFICATE

Report of the Auditor-General for the Federation onthe Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31st December 2017:Audit Opinion

Qualified Opinion

I have audited the financial statements of theFederal Government of Nigeria, which comprise the statement of financialposition as at December 31, 2017, and the statement of financial performance,statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows for the year thenended, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary ofsignificant accounting policies.

In my opinion, except for the effects of thematters described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion Section of thisreport, the accompanying Financial Statements present fairly in all materialrespects, the financial position of the Federal Government of Nigeria as atDecember 31, 2017, and (of) its financial performance and its cash flows forthe year then ended in accordance with International Public Sector AccountingStandards (IPSAS).

Basis for Qualified Opinion

EXEMPTIONS TAKEN ON FIRST TIME ADOPTION OF IPSAS

The Federal Government has taken advantage ofcertain transitional exemptions available to first time adopters of IPSAS asstated within the Accounting Policies Note. The exemptions in respect ofaccounting for revenues and assets affect the fair presentation of theFinancial Statements.

DEFICIENCIES IN THE FINANCIAL REPORTING ANDCONSOLIDATION PROCESS

Deficiencies were noted in the process forconsolidating the balances of Ministries, Departments and Agencies into oneeconomic entity. There were significant discrepancies in the accountingrecords as well as material balances which needs to be reconciled.

The consolidation boundary for the FederalGovernments' Financial Statements needs also to be adequately defined.

Responsibility for the Financial Statements

In accordance with the provisions of the Finance(Control and Management) Act, Cap F26 LFN 2004, the Accountant-General of theFederation is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of theFinancial Statements of the Federal Government of Nigeria, in accordance withthe International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The Accountant-Generalhas thus prepared and submitted to me for audit the Financial Statements asreproduced at Section 12 of my report, in accordance with Section 24 of theFinance (Control and Management) Act and Section 85(5) of the Constitution ofthe Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Auditor's Responsibility

My responsibility is to express an opinion on thefinancial statements based on audit. I conducted my audit in accordance withthe International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions. Those standardsrequire that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the auditto obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are freefrom material misstatement.

An audit involves the performance of procedures toobtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financialstatements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor's judgement,including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financialstatements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments,the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity's preparation andfair presentation of the financial statements in order to design auditprocedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purposeof expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity's internal control.

An audit also includes an evaluation of theappropriateness of the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of theaccounting estimates made by management, as well as of the overall presentationof the financial statements.

I believe that the audit evidence we have obtainedis sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my qualified auditopinion.

Report on other Legal and RegulatoryRequirements

Furthermore, other than with respect to the mattersstated within the basis for my opinion, the transactions of the FederalGovernment of Nigeria operations that have come to our notice or that we havetested as part of our audit have, in all significant respects, been inaccordance with the Financial Regulations and relevant legislative authorities.

A. M. AYINE, FCA

Auditor-General for the Federation

Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation

Plot 273 Samuel Ademulegun Street

Central Business District

P.M.B 128 Garki, Abuja

19 July, 2019

Download the591-page, 2017 Auditor General's Report Here