A report by the accountants Ernst and Young has recommended stricter financial controls in the development organisation GOAL, but found no evidence that funds were improperly diverted for purposes other than development. In a joint statement yesterday, GOAL and the Department of Foreign Affairs said they accepted in full the report's recommendations. GOAL said it would implement the recommendations in full and the Department indicated that GOAL was eligible to apply for funding for development and emergency projects "which the Department will consider according to its normal criteria and approval procedures".
In July the Department suspended funding of projects for GOAL, the country's third-largest relief agency. That followed an investigation by the European Commission's fraud unit into alleged financial irregularities at the agency. The Department called in Ernst and Young, a decision which GOAL described at the time as "outrageous" and "heavy-handed".
In yesterday's statement GOAL and the Department agreed that the Ernst and Young report had identified a number of deficiencies and accepted the recommendation of stricter financial controls and "improved management controls" in GOAL. Ernst and Young's report recommended that expenditure on running costs without approved funding should end. Monthly field reports should include an income and expenditure for each project, the accountants recommend. Separate project bank accounts should be opened for each project and the accounts should be reconciled on a monthly basis.
All field offices projects should be reviewed annually by a local auditor where income for the project exceeds £25,000, Ernst and Young recommend. More accurate travel information should be kept by GOAL in Dublin for aid workers funded by the Agency for Personal Service Overseas.
The joint statement concluded: "GOAL and the Department look forward to continued co-operation in the future".