IMPROVEMENT MADE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 293, 11 December 1929, Page 7

IMPROVEMENT MADE.

TRANSPORT BOARD METHODS TRAM AND BUS CONCESSIONS.' REPLY TO LOCAL BODIES. , Having in mind the sharp exchange of opinion .which took place at the meeting of the Auckland Transport Board yester. when a deputation from a conference of local body members asked the board to permit an investigation of its finances by three independent experts, a pressman to-day looked up the report of the' Transport Commission which, heard evidence 18 months ago. One statement in the report was subV sequently referred to the chairman of the' board, Mr. J. A. C. Allum. This waa that on the evidence tendered to the commission the apportionment of the revenue from concession and commuta-' tion tickets between trams and buses up 1 to that date could not be accepted as approximately accurate, and, further,' that methods disclosed in the cross-, examination of the departmental staff witnesses showed that improvements couldand should, be effected, some of the apportionments having been made on an arbitrary basis,

1 Mr. Allum said that while this refer*' ence was made in the report the commission had found no fault with the general system of finances. In fact, the commission had stated that the time and expense involved in the investigation would not have been justified but that the inquiry had disclosed the carping spirit of criticism in which the charges, had been made. As suggested hy the commission, an improvement had been made in the apportionment of concessions, arid this had proved entirely satis-' factory to the Audit Department.

"There has been an erroneous impression that the audit carried out hy the Auditor-General's Department is merely the checking of receipts and expenditure," Mr. Allum said. "I have stated on many occasions that the Government Auditor audits, the books and accounts of the Transport Board as though they were the records of a trading company, and the balance-sheet which is presented to the public is subject to just the same' control as the 'balance-sheet of any private concern. The auditor pays par-! ticular attention to the allocation of charges as between omnibuses and trams, and his requirements in this connection are strictly observed."

After the close of yesterday's meeting a letter'bearing on the point at issue • -was received from the Controller and Auditor-General, Mr. G. F. C. Campbell. It is addressed to the chairman of the board, and reads as follows: — "In reply to vour letter of the 28th 1 ultimo I have to state that the audit of the board's accounts as carried out by the audit inspector is not merely an audit of the receipts and payments, but it is, as notified to you on the 4th idem by the audit inspector, a complete audit conducted in accordance with the principles laid down by recognised authorities on auditing. It is the en-' deavour of the Aiulit Office to ensure' that the accounts of local authority trading undertakings are kept in a' manner conforming as closely as possible to recognised commercial practice. "With reference to your request that' I should allow Mr. Wylio (the Government audit inspector) to be in attendance at the board's meeting to give to representatives of the suburban local bodies any information which may be called for regarding the methods followed by him in auditing the accounts of your board, it does not appear to mo to be desirable that the audit inspector should be drawn into a controversy with an outside body, when it is so' essential that a Government audit ofll-* cer should preserve au independent atti-" tude in such matters. Should, the meeting desire explanations regard-,' ins any particular phase of the audit',' system, I shall be pleased to afford all' reasonable details on application."