THE AUDIT OF THE LAKE COUNTY ACCOUNTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 17 June 1887, Page 11

THE AUDIT OF THE LAKE COUNTY ACCOUNTS.

In justice to Mr Livingston, Provincial Auditor, it is only fair to quote the following extracts from the report of Mr C. T. Batkin, Assistant Controller and Auditor, on the affairs of the Lake County Council, which formed the subject of a special audit at the beginning of this year. It is satisfactory to note that Mr Livingston is completely exonerated 'from any imputation of laxity in his audit of the Lake County accounts, and indeed receives high commendabion from Mr Batkin for the vigilance he exercised. We quote from the report as follows :—: —

" I was informed by the county auditor that discrepancies between the dates of payment as given in the cash book and the dates of receipt borne by the voucher were explained by Boult as clue in general to the abstract having been sent out for signature. The auditor stated that he was continually complaining of the clerk's inaccuracies ; but on this, as on other points, his remarks were received with indifference, anil ho at length abandoned remonstrance as fruitless.

" Frauds of other kinds have in many instances been attempted, but have been discovered and frustrated by the county auditor, who, in addition to reporting them to the chairman, has required and obtained the refund of the money. " It has been shown that on many occasions the county auditor objected to payments as being made without legal authority ; but the council, relying apparently on the impotence of the system of county audit or on the probable apathy of the ratepayers, continued the practice, and in some instances made repeated illegal payments of the particular character objected to. " I found in the minutes that discussions had occasionally taken place in the council with reference to reports which, it was alleged, had not been laid before the council ; and so doubtful was the auditor himself of his reports reaching the chairman's hands, that on one occasion at least he resorted to the expedient of enclosing his report to the manager of the bank with the request that that gentleman would hand it to the chairman in person. It would appear probable, then, that many of these reports were first suppressed and afterwards destroyed. There is, indeed, scarcely a subject touched on in this report in which I have not been forestalled by the reports and minutes of the county auditor. It is due to Mr Livingston to point out that sums amounting to upwards of £150 fraudulently misappropriated by the late clerk (see paragraph 77) have at various times been [recovered, owing to his refusing to acknowledge the transactions or to pass the accounts till those sums were repaid. Moreover, it may with certainty be said that but for the auditor's care the ratepayers would have been defrauded to an even forger amount than that which represents their present loss."

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