9.4 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 only able to submit the FS for Trust Fund on February 2, 2025.
9.5 Due to the non-submission of the remaining 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 for the Special Education
Fund on March 21, 2025, while the FS for the General Fund was submitted later,
on April 4, 2025.
9.6 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. He mentioned that they established a cut-
off date of December 27, 2024, for submitting the financial transaction documents
to the Municipal Accountant. However, this cut-off date was not adhered to, and
the volume of documents was submitted after that date.
9.7 The Municipal Accountant further added that the FS rely on accurate and complete
data of financial transactions from all departments, and any delay in receiving
these documents can significantly impact the overall timeline. He stated that each
document needs to be verified for accuracy and completeness, and late
submissions disrupt this process, creating bottlenecks.
9.8 The delayed submission of the FS hindered timely audits and reviews, the
outcomes of which are necessary for Management to make informed and
intelligent decisions in their daily operations. Additionally, the late submission
affected their usefulness in providing relevant and timely information vital to
decision-making by Management and higher authorities.
9.9 We recommended and the Department Heads of the Municipality agreed to
enhance their monitoring processes for financial transactions to ensure
documents are submitted promptly to the Municipal Accountant for the
preparation and submission of the required financial reports to the audit
team.
COMPLIANCE AUDIT
Low collection of delinquent real property taxes
10. The Municipality did not follow the procedure prescribed in Section 254 of Republic
Act (R.A) No. 7160, which has led to increases in delinquent real property taxes
(RPT) amounting to ₱34,098,709.48 as of December 31, 2024. Consequently, the
Municipality risks losing potential revenue that could be used to finance
development projects programs and activities (PPAs).
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