NECESSITY FOR AUDITS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17277, 15 October 1921, Page 9

NECESSITY FOR AUDITS.

CONTROLLER-GENERAL'S VIEWS. (special to ''the press. ) "WELLINGTON. October 14. Sounding a valedictory note at the conclusion of his annual repor sentcd to Parliament to-day the to - troller and Auditor-General (Colonel K. J. Collin?) says: — Finallv, I have to direct the at-te - tion of Parliament to the fact that the demands made upon ihe audit, inspectorial. and examining staffs preclude more frequent inspections cases tli.'in once m twelve t that audit is necessarily a post fart operation I nder these ' be great reliance lias neccbSiir placed on the work of the ™ n ° UA .. part-mental officers, whose duty it s to exercise a frequent and s ... iernnl cheek with regard to monevs, which reliance has, I =■ to say. in many instances, been unjustified. Laxity of habit m th, re spect is. of course, known to jnenl » e „ of a staff, and its mildest consequent is that it facilitates peculations ot which audit can only he aware after- i. event. Substantial retorm m this matter must, and can only, be achieved. conscientious administrative *> U P sion, preventing wrongdoings, rather than bv audit action in punishing tiiem These 'and various other aspects ana statutory phases call for more reasonable comment than is often meted out to the Audit Office, which, by at least the rule of tradition or custom, is prechulrd from refuting, as it frequently could do. the often ill-considered or unwarranted fulminations of irresponsible critics. . At the same time I am ensuring that every care shall be taken to apply pas experience' to the audit operation.? or the present and future, and my earnest hope is that the consequence wiU. be a conspicuous triumph for the regime of mv successor us Controller ana Auditor-General, my term of occupancy of which position having also, I am happy to realise, not been altogether destitute of valuable results.