Unqualified Opinion Gained This Year is not A Guarantee to Get The Same Next Year
JAKARTA, BPK Public Relations - The Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK) expressed its appreciation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and all of her staff for their commitment and efforts to maintain the unqualified opinion on the financial statements Fiscal Year 2019. However, the ministry had to continue to work hard to gain the same opinion next year, as the unqualified opinion achieved would not guarantee that an auditee would get the same for the upcoming year.
This was conveyed by Board Member I Hendra Susanto when handing the audit report to Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi at the ministry’s office in Jakarta on Wednesday. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mahendra Siregar, Director General of Audit I, Novy G. A. Pelenkahu, and other invited officials were present at the event.
"The BPK considers that the financial statements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been fairly disclosed in all material aspects, including budget realization, operational report, and changes in equity, according to the Government Accounting Standards. Therefore, the BPK gave the unqualified opinion on the ministry’s financial statements Fiscal Year 2019", the Board Member I said.
"I would like to inform you that although the ministry has succeeded to achieve the unqualified opinion, it does not mean that the audited financial statements are free of irregularities. The BPK still found several weaknesses in the internal control system and compliances with laws and regulations needing corrections”, he added.
On the same occasion, Board Member I also handed a special-purposed audit report on the construction of the ASEAN Secretariat Building (ASEC) in Jakarta, which was carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a multi-year construction Fiscal Year 2017-2019.
"Based on the audit, the BPK found several significant problems including the auction for the construction of the ASEC Building that did not detect inappropriate information submitted by the bidders. However, the BPK did not find any problems related to deficiencies of the construction volume", the Board Member said.
The Board Member further mentioned the commitment of an entity to improve the accountability was not only measured by the opinion of financial statements. None of the less important was the commitment to follow up BPK’s recommendations.
Regarding this matter, the BPK expected an increase in commitment, control, and supervision of the budget user, the Government Internal Supervisory Agency (APIP), and heads of working units on the implementation and accountability of the budget. It was also expected that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be able to improve the internal control system by enhancing inadequate policies and procedures.