12.2 Moreover, the same provision is found in Section 4.1 of COA Circular No. 2010-
01 dated March 2, 2010, which states that the accountant shall submit the year-
end FS and schedules to the auditor on or before February 14 of each year. This
amends the provisions in Sec. 3.1 of COA Accounting Circular Letter No. 2007-
002 dated January 19, 2007, which provides that year-end FS shall be submitted
within 60 days after December 31 of each year.
12.3 Consistent with the adoption of the Philippine Sector Accounting Standards
(PPSAS) in the LGUs, Section 3.4 of COA Circular 2016-004 dated September
30, 2016, prescribed the presentation of the financial statements as follows:
a. Statement of Financial Position;
b. Statement of Financial Performance;
c. Statement of Changes in Net Assets/Equity;
d. Cash Flow Statement;
e. Comparison Statement of Budget and Actual Amounts (SCBAA); and
f. Notes to Financial Statements.
12.4 On January 22, 2025, the Audit Team requested the submission of the FS,
including schedules of subsidiary ledger balances of the controlling accounts in
the general ledger (GL) as of December 31, 2024. However, the Municipal
Accountant was unable to comply.
12.5 Due to the non-submission of the financial statements on February 14, 2025, we
issued a demand letter on February 17, 2025, requesting that the Municipal
Accountant promptly submit the year-end financial statements. However, the
Municipal Accountant submitted the FS on April 11, 2025.
12.6 Our interview with the Municipal Accountant revealed that the delayed
preparation and submission of the FS was due to the late submission of required
documents from various departments. According to her, the Local Chief
Executive set a cut-off date of December 31, 2024, for the submission of the
financial transaction documents to the Municipal Accountant. However, this cut-
off date was not met, and the volume of documents was submitted after this date.
12.7 The Municipal Accountant further stated that the FS rely on accurate and
complete financial transaction data from all departments, and any delay in
receiving these documents can significantly affect the overall timeline. She
mentioned that each document needs to be verified for accuracy and
completeness, and late submissions disrupt this process, leading to bottlenecks.
12.8 The delayed submission of the FS hindered timely audits and reviews, the
outcomes of which are necessary for Management to make informed decisions in
their daily operations. Additionally, the late submission of the FS affected their
usefulness in providing relevant and timely information vital to decision-making
by Management and higher authorities.
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