Investigation into $33K in missing licences shows 'pattern of irregularities' at Thompson government office

An auditor general's investigation found licences valued at more than $30,000 and an unknown amount of cash went missing from the Sustainable Development office in Thompson, Man.

Manitoba Auditor General Norm Ricard released his report Tuesday on the questionable cash-management practices of the northern Manitoba office, which sold hunting and angling licences, as well as timber permits and provincial park passes.

The review suggests the office was notprepared to police itself.

"We found a number of irregularities that suggest funds were misappropriated," the report said.

Ricard was asked to review the Thompson district office of the Department of Sustainable Development in 2014, after officials discovered missing deposits and licences. They fired the district clerk who was suspected of being involved.

The auditor general's review confirmed the internal finding that $33,341 worth oflicences wentmissing between 2005 and 2014.

Money unaccounted for

Cash was also misappropriated during that time span, but investigators could not estimate the dollar value because of poor documentation, the report stated.

Money iscommonly misappropriated, the report continued,by a scheme generally referred to as "lapping," in which an individual steals money during a transaction, but recordsthe sale with a cheque received later on.

It took the office an average of 73 days to deposit some chequesfrom 2013 to 2014, which, the audit says, suggests thechequeswere withheld for future use to cover for stolen cash.

"The findings show a pattern of irregularities which are not just recording errors," the report said.

The audit recommends the office begin to completerisk assessments, segregate duties whenever possible and stringently check inventoryto address its internal failings.

"The findings in this report highlight what can occur in weak control environments and why risk assessments, and more specifically fraud exposure evaluations, are so very important,"Ricardsaid in a statement.