The Commission on Audit (COA) has given the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) the highest audit rating for accuracy of the drug agency’s financial reports and records in 2021.
PDEA director general Wilkins Villanueva said the COA commended the agency’s overall presentation, structure and content of financial statements, including the disclosures and transactions for 2021, on the fairness of its presentation and devoid of material misstatements that may arise due to fraud or error.
“It is the highest audit opinion that the COA can render to a government agency. It means that all our financial records are in order and in accordance with their auditing rules and procedures,” Villanueva said.
In the May 16 independent report to Villanueva, supervising auditor Cherrie Lou Arguilla, affirmed that the auditor rendered an “unmodified opinion” because the accompanying financial statements of PDEA were presented fairly and in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs).
“Having been IPSASs-compliant- a set of accounting standards that ranks among the best in the world, PDEA is truly a topnotch organization when it comes to the preparation of financial statements,” the PDEA chief said.
COA said the audit evidence obtained based on the financial position of PDEA as of Dec. 31, 2021 comprising its statements of financial performance; cash flows; changes in net assets/equity;
comparison of budget and actual amounts for the year then ended; and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies, is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for an “unmodified opinion”.
“The recognition is a true reflection of PDEA’s commitment to serve the public with the same core values ingrained in our cultural cornerstones: professionalism, dynamism, excellence and accountability,” Villanueva said.
He thanked the PDEA-Financial Management Service, and Logistics and Administrative Management Service for the preparation of the agency’s financial statements, in conformity with the applicable financial reporting framework of COA.
“Truly, PDEA is conscientiously working on culture of EXCELLENCE,” he stressed.
He congratulated all PDEA personnel for a job well done.
