Auditors Demand Closure of 14 Dormant Gov’t Accounts With CBG.

By: Binta Jaiteh

The National Audit Office (NAO) has demanded the closure of fourteen dormant government accounts lodged with the Central Bank of the Gambia (CBG).

The Auditor General’s 2023 Management Letter of the Government revealed that fourteen (14) inactive government bank accounts held at the Central Bank for over five years remained open. This, according to the auditors, runs contrary to the regulations mandating the timely closure of dormant accounts.

The auditors referred to “Regulations 30(8) of the Financial Regulations 2016,” which required: “The Accountant General shall, periodically, close off all Project Accounts that have been dormant for more than five years by transfers to the Consolidated Fund.”

The auditors queried that keeping dormant accounts open increases the risk of unauthorized access.

“Accounts left open for prolonged periods may prevent efficient management and reallocation of government funds. The failure to close dormant accounts could lead to unreconciled balances remaining undetected, increasing the risk of errors or fraud,” the auditors noted. Additionally, they said that the dormant balances, if not transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), deprive the government of potential funds for other essential activities.

The auditors recommended that management take immediate action to close the fourteen dormant government accounts and transfer the remaining balances to the Consolidated Fund in compliance with Financial Regulation 30(8).

They also urged that the Accountant General’s Department should strengthen oversight and ensure that all dormant accounts were handled in accordance with financial regulations.

The audit further highlighted discrepancies between the bank and cash balances used for reconciliation and the actual year-end cash and bank balances. “These discrepancies have resulted in the inaccurate disclosure of balances under the cash and cash equivalents in the financial statements. The discrepancies lead to the misstatement of cash and bank balances, which could undermine the reliability and accuracy of the financial statements.”

“Inaccurate reconciliation of cash and bank balances may indicate weak cash management practices, increasing the risk of errors, omissions, or mismanagement of funds,” the auditors added.

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 By: Binta Jaiteh The National Audit Office (NAO) has demanded the closure of fourteen dormant government accounts lodged with the…
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