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- Ελληνικά
1. The Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, at its meeting held on 12.10.2005, adopted the following resolution. 29.11.2023 requested our Office to carry out an audit in relation to the works carried out in Akama National Forest Park, under public contracts concluded by the Forestry Department.
According to international auditing standards, among the audit evidence collected for conducting an audit are any internal auditors' reports or documents of a similar nature.
According to international auditing standards, among the audit evidence collected for conducting an audit are any internal auditors' reports or similar documents. In this context, we considered as necessary evidence for the conduct of our audit, inter alia, the report of the administrative investigation conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment in relation to the matter, a copy of which we requested a copy from the Director General of the General Directorate of Environment of the Ministry. Due to the delay observed, the matter was brought by the Auditor General before the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, who informed us that he has requested an opinion on the matter from the Attorney General of the Republic and therefore, before he has it, he cannot forward the report to us.
2. We have on several occasions expressed the view that the inalienable right of any auditee to seek legal advice at his discretion cannot lead to a delay in providing the requested information. Besides, the relevant legislation requires that the requested information be provided to our Office as soon as possible.
3. Our Agency has today informed the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment that, while respecting its request to complete the audit in question as soon as possible, it will not commence the audit until it has before it all the information it considers necessary for the conduct of the audit. International Standards on Auditing require the auditor not to express an opinion when the auditor is unable to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence on which to base the opinion and concludes that such evidence could potentially materially affect the auditor's opinion. Accordingly, any initiation of an audit without ensuring access to all the information we consider necessary may result in a waste of the resources we would have allocated in the meantime.
4. We express the hope that this will not be another case in which the Government, by invoking the adoption of an opinion of the Attorney General, will put obstacles in the way of our work.
(NZ/AF)
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