DENR gets ‘unmodified opinion’ from COA for 2024
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) received an “unmodified opinion” from the Commission on Audit for fiscal year 2024.
On its website, the commission explained that an unmodified or unqualified opinion is issued when the auditor concludes that the financial statements are prepared in all material respects per the applicable financial reporting framework.
A portion of a report released by the DENR on Tuesday states that “an unmodified opinion was rendered on the fairness of presentation of the financial statements of DENR as of December 31, 2024.”
“The Unmodified Opinion underscores the DENR’s strong commitment to transparency, accountability, and sound financial management,” said Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla in a statement.
“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects the financial position of the DENR as at December 31, 2024, and its financial performance, cash flows, changes in net assets/equity, comparison of budget and actual amounts for the year then ended, in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS),” the Independent Auditor’s Report stated, as quoted by the agency.
DENR said that the COA report covers the financial transactions of its central office, 15 regional officers, four staff bureaus, one foreign-assisted project, and 64 provincial environment and natural resources offices for the last year.
Based on its past records, the DENR reported that it has received qualified opinions since 2015, apart from 2021 and 2020, when the agency received an adverse opinion and a disclaimer opinion, respectively.
Citing COA, the DENR explained that a qualified opinion means that its “financial statements are generally accurate but have some issues, such as not fully following accounting standards, missing disclosures, or incomplete cash flow information.”
On the other hand, an adverse opinion is issued “when an agency’s financial statements are found to inaccurately reflect its true financial position,” while a disclaimer of opinion is given “when state auditors cannot form a clear judgment on the report because of insufficient information.” /gsg
