Challenges owing to low pay at Audit Office

Auditor General’s Office has said the lower remuneration of its staff is a significant challenging impeding its operations.

The Auditor General was summoned to Monday’s Public Accounts Committee meeting of the parliament for questioning, where he spoke in great detail about the challenges the office faced.

Owing to low pay framework of the office, many of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been headhunting experienced auditors from the office to these corporations.

According to the office, it is still following the original pay framework established since 2008, due to which the remuneration of its staff has remained unchanged in the last 10 years.

While highlighting that audit requires strong judgement, the office stressed importance of employing strong-willed and mature professionals as auditors.

“When they recruit experienced auditors, we are left with youngsters. The office has become a training premises for young auditors,”

Besides high employee turnover owing to low remuneration, the Auditor General’s Office face legal obstacles, includes threats and intimidation directed at its officers. Some of these instances had led to damages to property as well, the office added.

Auditor General Hussain Niyazy said that employees of the office had received multiple threats and intimidation when they prepared the audit report of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), which he said was reported to Maldives Police Service as well.

While the office is required to conduct over 600 audits per annum, its current workforce is just 161 employees. The office added that its staff turnover from 2019 to 2023 stood at an average of 14.

The office further bemoaned lack of action taken by SOEs on the reports it publicizes.

Moreover, fulfilling the office’s duties is further impeded owing to inadequate financial reporting standards and governance policies of SOEs.