Monrovia – The credibility of the General Auditing Commission’s (GAC) recent audit of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has come into question after the GAC rejected additional documents from the Central Bank due to a submission delay of two days beyond the deadline.
A renowned auditor, who requested anonymity, commented, “The essence of an audit is to assess compliance and identify any financial malfeasance. Auditors should not work under duress and must give the audited party ample time to respond to queries. The documents requested by the GAC were provided late as claimed by the GAC, but still before the compilation of the final report. This rejection shows a lack of fairness and could suggest a political motive.”
On July 18, 2024, the Central Bank submitted documents requested by the GAC to support its responses to audit queries. These documents were received by Ms. Daniella Berrian of the GAC, who began verifying them. However, just 30 minutes into the process, Audit Lead Mr. Abraham T. Cooper halted the verification and ordered the documents returned, noting that he had received instruction “from above”not to accept those documents, and that the CBL “should take it to them [the documents] to the authorities when we are summoned.”
The CBL noted in its communication expressing concern over the rejection that the decision contradicted previous agreements and email exchanges between CBL and GAC officials, which had allowed for the submission and review of these documents.
The CBL expressed frustration, viewing this as a breach of protocol and an obstacle to completing the audit transparently.
In response to the CBL’s concerns, Auditor General P. Garsua Jackson defended the GAC’s actions, blaming the CBL for not submitting the documents on the 16th of July 2024. Auditor General Jackson explained, “On July 16, 2024, the Deputy Governor for Operations informed the Deputy Auditor General that the CBL had documents for the GAC’s review, and requested that a CBL staff member be present due to the sensitive nature of the documents. The Deputy Auditor General responded on the same date, indicating that the documents should be available on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, as the GAC was finalizing the report. The documents were not submitted to the GAC until Thursday, July 19, 2024. We had essentially concluded the review of the report when the documents arrived at the GAC at about 12:30 PM.”
However, email exchanges between Deputy Governor Nyemadi Pearson and Deputy Auditor General Winsley Nanka show that DAG Nanka on the 16th of July by 5:46 PM, requested the CBL “could you please send the evidence you have by tomorrow morning by your staff,” meaning on the 17th of July. So, Auditor General Jackson`s claims of requiring the CBL to have submitted the documents on the 16th was not the fact.
Meanwhile, anonymous sources within the GAC disclosed that rejecting the documents was unnecessary, as they were crucial for finalizing the audit findings and recommendations.
One expert stated, “Rejecting requested documents on the grounds of late submission is highly irregular and casts doubt on the auditor’s intentions. This action undermines the credibility of the audit and requesting the Bank to submit those documents to the legislature instead when summoned could suggest possible political interference.”
Another expert added, “The GAC’s refusal to review critical documents is not just a procedural error; it suggests an attempt to manipulate the audit’s outcome. The CBL should be primarily answerable to the auditors during the audit. It is absurd that the GAC would refer the CBL to take its additional documents to the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislature, rather than they, as the supreme auditing body, concluding their audit and making recommendations based on their findings versus actual documents provided .”
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