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…investigation was contracted out to private firmThe Auditor General (ag) Deodat Sharma was preparing to undertake an emergency audit of the affairs at the National Communications Network (NCN) following allegations of financial impropriety,Jerseys NFL Wholesale China Online, but this did not materialize.Kaieteur News has been reliably informed that the Board of Directors of NCN had approached the Audit Office with a view to contracting out the Audit.This was agreed upon and the company contracted to undertake the investigation was Parmeswhar Chartered Accountants, and it was that entity’s report that was submitted for consideration.Kaieteur News understands that this report is also yet to meet the Audit Office.The Audit Office undertakes the regular annual audits of the State-owned media entity and will take into account the report generated by the special audit done by the private firm.The Audit Office was in the process of preparing a team to conduct the audit of NCN in relation to allegations of financial irregularities involving the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company’s Jingle and Song Competition, when it was approached with the “contracting out” proposal.Entities that are required to submit financial statements to be audited by the Auditor General must complete this task by April 30, each year.NCN, however, as is the case with several other companies that fall under the ambit of NICIL, was lagging behind.The Auditor General is currently in possession of the Financial Statements from the company for 2009 and has completed the audit for 2008.This publication had reported Auditor General (ag) Deodat Sharma, saying that, there have been some discrepancies raised in the past, but nothing reflecting the magnitude of the more recent allegations at NCN.Some of the audits that are required under law to be undertaken by the Office of the Auditor General are contracted out, given the constraints as a result of limited human resources.Following the probe launched by NCN’s Board of Directors and conducted by Parmeswhar Chartered Accountants, the entity’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohamed ‘Fuzzy’ Sattaur was forced to resign and Programme Manager, Martin Goolsaran was suspended. |
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