• Sept. 14, 2024, 2:08 a.m.
• Presentations and Considerations

Per financial regulations, the Gambia College appeared before the National Assembly Finance & Public Accounts Committee to (FPAC) to deliver and report on the audited status of the College 2019/2020. The session started with the Financial Statement Presented by the Finance Director of Gambia College. The Audited statement for the year ended 31 st Dec 2019; Detailing its total income generated internally D146,280,805 with a cumulative expenditure for the college at D63,888,222.... A surplus of D82,392,583.

As of December 2020 the Gambia College’s Financial Income Statement, projected a total income of D99,259,02 with a total expenditure D71,856,80 and a surplus of D27,422,922.

Audit Report by External Audit

Adverse Opinion

The accompanying financial statements do not give a true and fair view of the financial statements of Gambia College as of Dec 2019/20 in accordance with the International Accounting Standards

Findings

Absence of an annual budget and budget control management, which are mandatory tools that organizations need to demonstrate financial discipline.

Material Lapses in payroll administration.

Missing payment vouchers in which a total of D33mil cannot be accounted for.

The issues raised in the subsequent meetings by the governing council are not followed up and there is no evidence in the minutes that the matters raised have been closed.

The college didn’t prepare strategic planning documents, which produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape the institution.

The internal audit reports directly to the principal, which affects their independence and objectivity; no annual audit plan prepared for 2019/20.

A student database management system was introduced in the college but is not being used.

A comprehensive fixed asset register, which is maintained by the procurement department, is incomplete and does not cover the list of assets that are supposed to be in the financial statement.

Gambia College has several landed properties in which they are not in possession of the title deed, no proper evaluation done, and no register maintained where all the properties are being recorded.

The college is not maintaining a student/staff debtors list to determine the total balance owed to the college by both students and staff.

The college maintained 13 bank accounts in which the cash books were incomplete and bank reconciliation statements were not prepared for the whole of 2019/20.

Gambia College signed a loan agreement with the bank for an amount of 6mil; the copy of the said agreement was requested but not provided. The loan was paid, but the accounting schedule was requested but not provided.

Absence of organizational goals broken down, annual objectives for staff targets were not set for employees, and annual performance staff appraisal was not conducted.

Procurement committee meeting minutes for 2019/20 were not provided, thus hindering the knowledge of how contracts are awarded, and proper agreements were not prepared for contractual services.

No health and safety measures against COVID, and fire extinguishers were not available within the offices, hall, and dormitories.

Recommendations

Governing council of Gambia College must ensure that the Finance Directorate implements the following with immediate effect:

1. Staff to receive training to fill existing knowledge gaps preventing them from producing the mentioned reports on the findings.
2. The documents mentioned in the findings must be made available commencing financial year 2023.

A credible monthly payroll will be subjected to the following regular and standard reviews:

1. A monthly headcount report from the HR department consisting of the total number of staff in the institution.
2. A review of the draft payroll by both Internal Audit and HR, confirming the list of staff to be remunerated and the monetary package for each staff that month, which reflects what is stated in their contract.

A tracker should be prepared using Microsoft Excel for key points discussed in meetings; the person responsible for implementing the resolution should manage the tracking, forming the basis of the subsequent council meeting agenda.

The college’s strategic plan would guide the institute for the decisions to be made on both a long-term and daily basis, ensuring that operations are in place. The institution's mission and values should be included in the document.

An audit committee should be set up; the internal audit department should report to the newly set-up board committee. The governing council should approve the annual audit plan after it's presented to them, with all changes made.

The internal audit should be staffed with the right caliber of employees.

The use of the student database system was recommended, which is faster and more efficient than the manual system.

A fixed asset register should be maintained and updated regularly. There should be monthly reconciliation of the fixed asset register in line with the general ledger.

Gambia College should make efforts to obtain the title deeds for all landed properties, and a professional evaluation should be conducted to attach value to each property.

For effective monitoring of debtors' levels, a monthly debtor report should be provided.

Bank reconciliation statements should be prepared monthly for each bank account, reviewed by a senior official other than the one who prepared it.

Staff should undergo external training to enable them to carry out the daily, monthly, and annual aspects of their jobs.

Set of annual targets of the institution should be given to each staff and department.

Health and safety measures should be taken seriously in the institution, and all staff should be trained in how to use the health and safety materials.