Wellington, 27th September, 1881.

Evening Post, Volume XXII, Issue 77, 29 September 1881, Page 3

Wellington, 27th September, 1881.

DUTIES OF CITY AUDITORS. ♦ TO THE EDITOR OF THE EVENING POST. Sir — I deem it a duty to my late colleague I and myself, as well as to the ratepayers of "Wellington, who did us the honor to elect us as City Auditors, to reply to the Etrictures that have been passed upon us by one of the Councillors at the last meeting of the City Connoil, and by yonraelf in last night's leading article, headed " Scandalous Laxity," charging us with negligence in not having, during the process of our audit, discovered an orror in the summation of an account rendered by the City Solicitor, to the extent of .£2O, which was said to have been passed and paid. It would appear that neither the worthy Councillor in question or yourself were acquainted with the duties required of the City Auditor under the Municipal Corporations Aot, an extract from which, defining the same, I beg to append. After stating that, within fifteen dayß after the 31st days of March and September, in each year, the Treasurer shall balance all the accounts, and shall prepare and send to the auditors a balance-sheet, being an abstract of receipts and expenditure on each of the accounts for the Bix months ending on each of the abovementioned days, clause 129 reads: — %t The Auditors shall forthwith attend at the office of the Council, and shall examine the same half-yearly abstracts, and ehall compare them with the Treasurer's books and with the bank pass-book 3, bank receipts given to collector, vouchers and other documents explaining and supporting the fame, and the auditors shall within fifteen days after receiving any snob, half-yearly balance-sheet certify to the same, either wholly or with such exceptions as they think fit, and return it to the treasurer, who shall forthwith lay the same before the Council." The duties, I need hardly say, were performed strictly in accordance with the above requirements during the last twelve months of audit. Setting aside the question of remuneration received, viz. — Twenty-five guineas each per annum, I would put the question to you, and reasonable men among your readers, whether it would be possible for any two men to check all the details of the Corporation accounts, viz. -the oalculatons, extensions, additions, &0., for a period of six months, within the space of fifteen days allotted for the purpose ? As well ask us to deoide upon the correctness or otherwise of the prices paid by the Corporation for goods supplied by the various tradesmen under contracts ; also the calculations of the rates in the rate books. Probably the present system of audit does not meet the exigencies of the case, and that, in the interests of the ratepayers, a more perfect system is necessary. The only absolutely perfect system is a pre-audit, giving the auditors power to pass all accounts prior to payment, and ascertain whether the money is correctly appropriated by the Council under the several Acts authorising the expenditure ; but, of course, any alteration in this direction must be made by the New Zealand Parliament. I think, sir, my explanations will convince you that, after having performed tha dnties prescribed by the Act, the auditors have done all that can possibly be required of them under the existing law. I am, Ac, Wm. Widdop. Wellington, 27th September. [We have dealt with this letter in our leading columns. — Ed. E.P.]