Annex 4: Summary of other NAO work relating
to the Electoral Commission in 2003-04
On the Resource Accounts
The Comptroller and Auditor General gave an unqualified
audit opinion on the 2003-2004 Resource Accounts on 22 October
2004. We raised a number of issues arising from our work, which
included two relatively high risk areas which we reported to Electoral
Commission management, namely:
- a lack of procedures to enable
full monitoring by individual project of payments made to COI
Communications for advertising campaigns; and
- an example of a new Initiative Fund grant being
paid without obtaining full supporting documentation;
We also wrote separately giving advice on how to
enhance the content of the Statement on Internal Control for future
years.
On other advice we provided during the year
We have provided input on a number of issues throughout
the period which include:
- Providing advice, in preparation
for Regional Assemblies, in accounting for the costs of Boundary
Committee work in carrying out local government reviews, how to
calculate the re-charge to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
and how to account for the transactions in the Resource Accounts;
- Providing advice and guidance on matters relating
to the North East Referendum, including arrangements for drawing
money from the Consolidated Fund, maintaining separate accounts
at the Electoral Commission and preparing accounts for Counting
Officer Expenses;
- Providing comments on the conditions attached
to awarding Policy Development Grants to political parties;
- Providing information on the NAO Policy on arrangements
for Whistleblowers;
- Reporting the results of a NAO review of the
Home Office Pay and Pensions Service; and
- Providing comments on the Electoral Commission's
review of the Statement of Accounts Guidance Notes for Political
Parties.
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