Public Service Media, PSM, has corrected 90 percent of the issues flagged in its 2021 audit report, the company’s management has said.
The Auditor General's Office’s audit report on PSM for 2021 was recently published, and included findings on the company’s financial position and practices during the previous presidential administration. These included debt inherited from various managements, instances of violation of the Public Finance Act in the use of the company's funds and incomplete auditing processes.
Referring to the Auditor General's report, PSM's current management said 90 percent of the issues identified in the 2021 audit report have now been addressed and corrected. Other issues raised in the report are also expected to be improved in the future.
PSM’s management emphasised that some of the issues raised in the audit report are issues that the company’s management has already started to look into on its own initiative, including the misuse of company funds in violation of laws and regulations. In addition, while the company's name has changed several times over the years and the company's assets and liabilities transferred, the details have not been properly documented and maintained, the management noted, adding that this hindered audit in the past.
While the audit report covered the year 2021, the audit reports for 2022, 2023 and 2024 are likely to note the same issues, the management said.
PSM’s management said that although the company has not been audited properly in the past, the work is now being done under a robust system. The aim is to complete all the financial statements of the company in accordance with the law and regulations before the end of this year and the start of next year's audit, the management added.
PSM was established in 2015 as a separate company called Public Service Media to disseminate news and information, raise awareness and entertainment, following the dissolution of the previous Maldives Broadcasting Corporation. The company has changed its name several times and changed its assets and liabilities. The audit reports have already highlighted the issues as the formal processes were not carried out in accordance with a strong procedure.