[Source: Parliament of Fiji/ Facebook]

The Ministry of Home Affairs is addressing weaknesses in its financial reporting processes.

This was discussed during their meeting with members of the Public Accounts Committee.

Concerns were raised over the quality and timeliness of the Ministry’s draft financial statements and compliance with audit requirements for 2020 and 2021.

In response, Deputy Permanent Secretary Sainitiki Ravuso outlined the actions being taken to improve financial oversight.

[Source: Parliament of Fiji/ Facebook]

A key step was the review of the Ministry’s financial manual which was endorsed in July 2022.

“Improving the Ministry’s compliance and timelines has been a regular topic of discussion in our senior leadership team meetings, held weekly.”

To enhance accountability, the Ministry has issued internal communications emphasizing the importance of timely and accurate reporting.

The corporate services division has also incorporated financial compliance into its annual work plan with progress tracked on a monthly and quarterly basis.

The Ministry has also established a dedicated Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) position to ensure ongoing oversight of financial statement quality and timeliness.