COA issues ‘unmodified opinion’ on 2024 financial statements of Makati 

Makati City Hall (Photo by Ryan Leagogo/ INQUIRER.net)

MAKATI CITY, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA), for eight years in a row now, has rendered an ‘unmodified opinion’ on the fairness of presentation of the financial statements of Makati City for calendar year 2024.

“This latest audit report from COA is another crowning glory for my administration. It is an indisputable proof of our genuine and unstinting commitment to the pillars of good governance: efficiency, transparency, and accountability,” Mayor Abby Binay said in a statement issued to the media on Tuesday.

The city government earned its very first unmodified audit opinion in 2017, the first full year of Mayor Abby in office.

The latest audit result was relayed by Atty. Maria Carmina Paulita Pagayawan, Director of the Local Government Audit Sector, COA National Capital Region, in a letter to the mayor.

“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the City of Makati as at December 31, 2024, and its financial performance, cash flows, and charges in net assets/equity for the year then ended and notes to financial statements, in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS),” stated Atty. Pagayawan.

In her statement, Mayor Abby commended the city finance sector and all the other departments and offices of the city government for ensuring their respective operations and transactions consistently adhered to the regulatory policies and guidelines of COA.

“I gladly share this extraordinary achievement with all our department and office heads and our entire city workforce. Your diligence and commitment have been crucial in ensuring our strict compliance with relevant auditing laws and policies year after year,” Mayor Abby said.

“Together, we have raised the bar of local governance and public service by several notches, which needs to be sustained,” the mayor added.

Mayor Abby said that the latest unmodified opinion from COA has sealed the deal for the Accounting Department as a candidate for the Platinum Award conferred by the Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines (AGAP, Inc.). Obtaining an unmodified audit opinion for eight straight years is a major criterion of AGAP in conferring the award.

The city accounting department has been named “Outstanding Accounting Office” by AGAP for the past seven years.

Makati was recently recognized by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) as an outstanding local government unit after validating its full compliance with the Electronic Business One-Stop Shop (eBOSS), as mandated by the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Delivery Act of 2018, or R.A. 11032.

The Department of Finance has also ranked Makati as first among cities in sustaining its fiscal autonomy through local revenue sources and in posting the highest per capita spending for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

According to the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), Makati posted the highest ratio of local revenue sources to local current operating income among all cities in the country in 2023, with a ratio of 90.60 percent. /asu