22 June 2021
The St Helena Government (SHG) Financial Statements for the financial year 2019/20 has been signed by the Financial Secretary, Dax Richards, following consideration and approval by the Finance Committee on Wednesday, 16 June.
These financial statements are the ninth to be produced since the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) financial reporting framework (accruals basis) and the first year that an unqualified opinion has been given by the Chief Auditor.
An unqualified audit opinion on the Financial Statements means that the Chief Auditor has found the financial statements to present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of SHG as at 31 March 2020 and its financial performance and its cash flows for the year. In his report the Chief Auditor also gave an unqualified opinion on regularity of expenditure and compliance with the relevant laws as required under his statutory responsibilities.
This is a significant result for SHG and represents a major achievement in improving the quality of public financial reporting on St Helena.
Financial Secretary Dax Richards said:
“This is a significant achievement for St Helena Government. The Financial Reporting team of the Treasury has over a number of years continuously improved the quality of the Financial Statements and this year to be able to have an unqualified opinion on the Financial Statements is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Treasury and Audit St Helena teams.
“Only a handful of countries and territories around the world are able to say that they operate under an accruals accounting framework such as the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and have achieved an unqualified audit opinion. St Helena is certainly leading the way within the Overseas Territories on Financial Reporting. I would like to congratulate the entire team for this significant achievement.”
The publication of the SHG audited financial statements is a key part of the Public Financial Management framework and is a key document in ensuring that the Government is accountable for the management and use of public resources to Legislative Council and the general public.
While the publication of the audited financial statements has been delayed due to resourcing constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic this has allowed time to address prior year qualification issues.
The Financial Statements 2019/20 are now available on the SHG website at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/portfolios/corporate/corporate-finance/.
Notes to Editors
SHG’s Financial Statements are produced in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) financial reporting framework (accruals basis) in compliance with statutory requirements under the Public Finance Ordinance, 2011.
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board® (IPSASB®) works to improve public sector financial reporting worldwide through the development of IPSAS®, international accrual-based accounting standards, for use by governments and other public sector entities around the world (https://www.ipsasb.org/).
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SHG
22 June 2021