PSS wants auditing firms to look at DoF, PSS books

By Marconi Calindas
Reporter

The Public School System wants the government to hire two auditing firms to take a look at the books of both the Department of Finance and the PSS due to the accounting differences between the two offices, said PSS associate commissioner David M. Borja.

This arose after Finance claimed to have transferred to PSS some $1.9 million on Jan. 7 and $1.3 million on Jan. 21 for a total of $3.2 million, leaving a balance of $700,000 from the $3.9 million being claimed by PSS.

PSS claims, though, that Finance still owes them $1.195 million—not $700,000.

PSS director of finance Richard Waldo said that Finance has its own computation of what it owes PSS, while PSS has its own reports, which had led to accounting disagreements between the two offices.

Waldo said that he had an argument with Finance because of the 1 percent automatic deduction on the PSS budget that will go to the Office of the Public Auditor and the 2 percent legislative deduction.

“The schedule gets confusing if you don’t knock the 3 percent,” Waldo said.

This came even as the Finance Department deposited to PSS last Tuesday some $569,604 as partial remittance for the $1.195 million it owes PSS for its “all others” account. Waldo said this still means a balance of some $625,396 for this account.

He explained that Finance had a remaining balance of $830,924 on PSS’ “all others” account as of Sept. 30, 2004, plus $364,603 for the same account in the first quarter of fiscal year 2005, for a total of $1.195 million.

‘AUDIT BOTH OUR BOOKS’

Waldo wrote Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig last Jan. 31 requesting for the transfer of funds to PSS’ “all others” account, with the proposal to resolve the accounting differences between their offices by hiring at least two auditing firms to scrutinize their records.

Associate commissioner Borja said that he agreed with Waldo’s suggestion to straighten out the discrepancies. “We want Finance to show us their records,” said Borja, considering that PSS has always shown Finance their records.

“They never show us what they said they sent us, they should do that,” he added.

Borja said that the two auditing firms—such as Deloitte & Touche and J. Scott Magliari—will be strictly looking at each office’s numbers.

“What’s happening to us is that, ‘Your number is better than our numbers,’” said Borja. “We don’t want personalities.”

Although it will cost them, said Waldo, he believes that such incongruity will be avoided.

Lt. Gov. Diego Benavente and Finance Secretary Atalig were supposed to meet with Waldo and some PSS officers to discuss this recommendation yesterday but due to some reasons the meeting did not happen.

Waldo said that if Finance intends to give them the money on a piecemeal basis, then the department should give the money on time.

“It’s bad enough to work on small amounts of money but give it on time; that’s all I’m asking,” he said.

Finance did not say when it will remit the remaining $625,923 for PSS’ “all others” account but Waldo said, “We will demand all our money.”

He said the money remitted to them will go to the vendors that PSS has not paid for a long time.

Borja said he is disappointed with the incomplete funds being remitted to them. “We are very concerned with our vendors whom we have not paid a long time ago.”

He said this trend does not speak well about Finance’s next remittance of the remaining balance due PSS.