MANILA – The Commission on Audit (COA) gave 15 out of 17 attached agencies, particularly the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), under the Office of the President the highest rating audit for the calendar year 2019.
PMS is the primary government agency responsible for providing technical assistance and advice to the President. Among its other responsibilities, the PMS provides relevant and timely information to the Chief Executive.
Aside from PMS, the government offices under OP that received an “unqualified opinion” based on the Executive Summary report available on the COA’s website are:
* Climate Change Commission;
* Commission on the Filipino Language;
* Governance Commission for Government Owned or Controlled Corporations;
* Games and Amusements Board;
* Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council;
* Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board;
* National Anti-Poverty Commission;
* National Historical Commission of the Philippines;
* National Library of the Philippines;
* National Youth Commission;
* Optical Media Board;
* Philippine Commission on Women;
* Philippine Competition Commission; and
* Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.
The unqualified audit opinion is considered the best mark a government agency can receive from COA.
It is issued when auditor believes that a state office has fairly and appropriately presented, without any identified exceptions, its financial statements during the audit.
The government agency also gets best audit rating if it has accurately disclosed all changes, accounting policies and their applications and effects.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Philippine Racing Commission (PRC) were the only two attached agencies that were given “qualified opinion" which indicates that there was either a scope limitation, an issue discovered in the audit of the financials that was not pervasive, or an inadequate footnote disclosure. (PNA)
