Audit Report: No record of Broadcasting Commission receiving any portion of the MVR 30 million owed in 2024
An audit report has revealed significant financial negligence within the Maldives Broadcasting Commission following a server failure, with the Auditor General noting that there is no record of any payments being collected last year from over MVR 30 million in outstanding dues owed by the end of 2023. Consequently, the Audit Office has instructed the Commission to strengthen its financial record-keeping and take formal regulatory action to recover all outstanding state funds.
Former President of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom), Safa Shafeeq, at a meeting of the People’s Majlis. | Majlis
The Auditor General’s Office has revealed that there is no evidence of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission receiving any portion of the 30 million Rufiyaa owed to it during 2024.
The Auditor General's Office, in its 2024 compliance audit report for the Maldives Broadcasting Commission, stated that records pertaining to the funds owed to the commission were unavailable.
According to the Commission's 2023 compliance audit report, the financial statements prepared for that year reveal a total of MVR 30,578,453 (thirty million, five hundred and seventy-eight thousand, four hundred and fifty-three) remained outstanding as receivables by the end of the year.
The report highlighted that the total amount of outstanding funds owed to the Commission as of the end of 2024 could not be determined. This is due to the Commission's failure to prepare the required annual reports including the 2024 financial statements, compounded by a server issue that has rendered stored documents inaccessible, leaving the Commission unable to compile an account of its receivables.
According to the audit report, records for the year 2024 in the SAP system maintained by the Ministry of Finance indicate that the Commission received a total of MVR 7,445,297 (seven million four hundred forty-five thousand two hundred ninety-seven) during that year.
The report highlighted that due to the failure to maintain comprehensive records of receivables and the subsequent lack of entries in the SAP system, it is impossible to determine whether any portion of the 30 million Rufiyaa owed to the Commission as of the end of 2023 was recovered in 2024, or to verify the exact amount received if any such payments were made.
While the full details of the commission's 2024 revenue remain unclear, the Auditor General’s Office has advised the institution to establish a robust system to ensure that essential financial records are preserved and protected, even in the event of server failures. Furthermore, the audit office directed the commission to take all necessary measures to recover outstanding funds, in accordance with Section 5.26 of the State Finance Regulations.
