DepEd agency fails to liquidate cash advances

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has called on an attached agency of the Department of Education (DepEd) to settle its unliquidated cash advances for the past nine years which have reached P3.2 million as of Dec. 21, 2010.

State auditors said the Bureau of Elementary Education’s (BEE) failure to account for cash advances within 60 days from being made is a violation of COA Circular No. 97-002 dated Feb. 10, 1997.

In a report, COA said some of the cash advances date “as far back as CY (Calendar Year) 2001 or more than nine years.”

The auditors said that considering the travels for which the cash advances were made have already been completed, and since 83.39 percent of the other specific purposes like training, conferences, and workshops had been undertaken, the cash advances should have already been liquidated.

“Consequently, the practice of non-strict compliance with the requirements of proper liquidation of cash advances resulted in the accumulation of its balance every year and misstated the expenses actually incurred for its respective years,” the audit report said.

Although COA commended the BEE for lowering its unliquidated cash advances from P6.6 million in 2009, it still recommended that all accountable officers with unsettled obligations be told to do so in compliance with COA rules.

The agency’s accountant was also urged to continuously monitor and strictly enforce the liquidation of cash advances within the prescribed period enumerated in COA Circular No. 97-002.

The BEE is the principal agency of DepEd tasked with the formulation of policies, programs, planning, and standard development for elementary education.