Auditor General Michael Ferguson said the federal government’s plans to bypass internal financial controls in the event of Phoenix emergencies increase the risk of errors and unreliable payroll costs when he audits the government’s books.
Ferguson, who was not consulted about the government’s decision to seek a blanket authorization from departments on bypassing routine financial approvals, said the move will make his yearly audit of $23 billion in payroll even more difficult.
Ferguson, who audits the government’s annual financial statements, gave the 2017 Public Accounts a clean opinion, but he flagged that internal controls were so unreliable that he had to change the way pay expenses were audited.
He said poor internal controls and errors were made in “in every step…
