All state auditors to use standardized system soon
All state auditors to use standardized system soon
JAKARTA (JP): All government supervisory agencies will start
using a standardized system on April 1 for auditing government
institutions, companies and projects, says the chief of the
Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), J.B. Sumarlin.
"We have designed the system, called the government auditing
standard, to cover not only the financial auditing but also the
accounting supervision of government institutions," Sumarlin said
in his speech at a ceremony here yesterday to commemorate BPK's
48th anniversary.
He said the new standard will be used by all the
government's supervisory agencies, including the inspectorate
generals of ministries and the Government Audit Agency (BPKP).
Sumarlin explained that the new system will include a new
accounting system for the state budget and comprehensive
management of offshore loans, as well as accounting supervision
of budgetary spending.
"The accounting supervision in the planned auditing system
is new in that it will authorize BPK to evaluate the
accountability as well as efficiency and effectiveness of state
budget implementation," he said.
He said the new auditing system would allow BPK not only to
match the balance between revenue and spending under the state
budget and reveal any irregularities to the House of
Representatives (DPR), but also to comment fully on its findings.
Another BPK official, Gandhi, told reporters that agency's
current auditing system has not allowed the agency to state its
opinion of the performance of government institutions.
Under the new system the agency will be permitted to go
outside strict accounting principles in providing assessments of
the reports which it audits.
Objectivity
Sumarlin was confident that the new standard would improve
objectivity in the auditing of government accounts.
"We have designed the system in such a way that any
irregularities, malfeasance and manipulation of the state budget
will be easily traced," he added.
Another BPK official, Rivai Siata, told The Jakarta Post
that the new system would also emphasize the independence of the
agency from the government, which is guaranteed by the
constitution.
He said that the new system will simplify cross-checking on
auditing reports of various supervisory bodies because they will
adopt similar procedures.
"With the standardized system, BPK, BPKP and other auditing
boards will not overlap in auditing and supervising government
institutions," he said.
Gandhi acknowledged that the new system requires a high
degree of professionalism on the part of auditors.(fhp)