Harare has no mechanisms to detect fraud – auditors

The City of Harare’s revenue could be understated as council does not have effective controls in place to stop fraud, an eternal auditor’s report has showed.

“The internal audit department does not have forensic tools to detect fraudulent manipulations of transactions that can be perpetrated by IT personnel and cashiers,” said Grant Thornton Camelsa, the council’s external auditors.

“We noted that there is room for the employees at the billing side to create fake receipts that can be used to receipt customers when they come to settle their monthly bills,” said Grant Thornton.

The city’s financial reporting is not up to date and does not adhere to international standards, contravening the Public Finance Management Bill which dictates that financial statements should comply with international accounting practices.

“The books of accounts for City of Harare are behind the generally acceptable reporting timeframes: the 2009 financial statements were audited in 2012,” Grant Thornton noted.

Such audits should be carried out within three months of the preceding year-end.-The Source

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