SERVICE STORES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 30, 4 August 1943, Page 3

SERVICE STORES

SYSTEM OF CONTROL

OUTSPOKEN COMMENT

"Much money and a great deal of time and energy have been expended in keeping stores records which, in the state reported, have little value," commented the Controller and AuditorGeneral (Mr. C. G. Collins) in his annual report to Parliament, in reference to the control of Army, Navy, and Air Force stores.

The Auditor-General said that the stores records did not provide satisfactory safeguard against misappropriation and were of little assistance to the Services in providing information regarding stocks available for use, or in estimating future requirements. "Reference has been made." he said, "to accounts which record issues in excess of receipts, and when such a record is allowed to stand without prompt investigation and adjustment by the officers immediately responsible it becomes an absurdity, and indicates a want of earnestness and determination on the part of such officers to have matters put right." A vast quantity of stores had passed through the Army Ordnance JDepartments during the year, said the report, and the capacity of storage accommodation had been taxed to the utmost. The unsatisfactory position in regard to stores accounting at ordnance depots mentioned in the last report still existed. Stores transactions had been ledgered. but in numerous instances ledger balances bore little relation to actual stocks. In December. 1941. the Audit Office.drew the attention of the Army Department to the fact that no complete stocktaking had been.made at the main depot for some years, and apparently no stocktaking during the war was contemplated. The results of the inspectors' stock tests showed that the accounts were in a far from satisfactory state, and it seemed essential that the number of permanent stocktakers. should be increased to provide that all lines were checked at least once during the year. In April, 1942. the Army Department replied that it was intended to institute a system of continuous and progressive stocktaking in all ordnance depots as soon as suitable personnel could be obtained.

CHECKING OF FLAGS

"This system has not yet been Instituted," commented the AuditorGeneral, "whilst the stocktakers previously engaged have worked only intermittently and have checked only a comparatively few lines. These, too, were not properly representative, for of the 300 lines checked 118 were in respect of the comparatively unimportant item 'flags.' By far the greater number of lines have not been checked since before the war."

At a recent inspection of a bulk store forming a branch of the main ordnance depot, Trentham, where the accounting should have been relatively simple, a number of discrepancies were found, and investigation revealed two instances of failure to charge out material dispatched to a manufacturer for making into garments. The value of the material exceeded £500.

While carrying out an inspection at another depot the inspector drew attention to the ' exceptionally poor quality of sole leather being supplied by merchants. The matter was reported to the Minister of Defence, and suitable refunds were made by the merchants concerned.

Much adverse comment in past reports related to clothing store' accounts, but by improving store organisation and instituting internal check systems those accounts had now been brought to a satisfactory state. Improvement had also been shown in camp and unit stores, but the improvement had not extended to all. The unsatisfactory position of transport stores accounts had' been largely remedied in the case of bulk stores.

AIR DEPARTMENT STORES.

The staff position of the Audit Department had allowed of only a minimum of attention being given to the Air Department stores, but the Air Department during the year set up its own inspectorate and the reports of the chief inspector of equipment had been made available to the Audit Office. They had mostly been couched in condemnatory terms, and they revealed that at the majority of stations and depot stores accounting work had been badly done. It was probable that the amount required to be written off charge as deficiencies in stock would reach a large sum.

"The reports of inspections of the two main stores depots disclosed that the ledger cards were in a state of muddlement," said the report. "Many accounts show more stock issued than is recorded as having been received, and there have been many instances in which this result was shown -when large quantities of the relative line were actually in store.

"The Department made a request to Treasury and Audit to have all past records wiped out and a fresh start made with opening balances of actual stocks on hand, and in view of the

position into which the accounts had drifted Treasury and Audit had no option but to grant the request." Air Department and other stores, said the report, were sometimes euphemisticallly classed as ."attractive" and "non-attractive." Blankets and clothing, for instance, were "attractive," while an aircraft propeller would presumably be "non-attractive." There was therefore some satisfaction in noting that the discrepancies between recorded and actual stocks applied impartially to "attractive" and "nonattractive" items, from which it might be reasonably deduced that it was as likely that the records were at fault as that there had been any theft or misuse of stores.

POSITION AT NAVAL BASE.

"A satisfactory examination of the accounts at the naval base could not be undertaken as ledger postings were in arrears —a position which has obtained over the past two years," said the report. "The shortage of staff which was the reason for the unsatisfactory state of the accounts still exists. It is to be feared that even if the stock accounts are now. brought up to date the lapse of time since a previous balance will preclude any satisfactory investigation into differences disclosed between recorded stocks and those actually on hand."