Prince George, BC –  It has taken five years, but it seems the governing body of the BC Legislative Assembly may be prepared to address ‘numerous deficiencies’ regarding the Legislature’s financial accounting.

In response to a damning audit report released by the BC Auditor General’s office this past week, the Legislative Assembly Management Committee has called a meeting for Tuesday to consider the report.  And according to a news release issued by the Office of the Speaker, will issue a public statement afterwards, "including a full schedule of meetings and a work plan to expedite action on audit concerns.

Earlier this week, Auditor General, John Doyle, released two reports, one stating the government has understated its deficit, the other an audit of the Legislative Assembly’s financial records.  In it, Doyle outlines substantial irregularies regarding the Legislature’s financial accounting, in addition to what he calls ‘poor governance’. (To read full report, click here)

"The audit identified a large number of significant and serious issues," says Doyle.  "As a result, I am unable to conclude as to whether the amounts recorded in the financial records we examined are correct.  I recommend that the Legislative Assembly take immediate steps to address numerous deficiencies identified within this audit."

Doyle says this report builds on one conducted by the office in 2007 that identified a number of areas for improvement, including improving internal controls to help protect against fraud or error and providing publically available audited financial statements.

He says this report would have been far more positive had the Legislative Assembly implemented the 2007 recommendations.  "As it stands, the Legislative Assembly is falling well short of the basic financial management practises established for the rest of government."

"As Chair of the Legislative Assembly Management Committee, I take the report and its findings very seriously," says Bill Barisoff, Speaker of the Leg.  "All committee members are committed to continue to address the concerns that have been raised and begin implementing effective change as soon as possible."