Updated 21 December 

Bookkeeping at four local councils was so poor last year that the National Audit Office was unable to express an opinion on their financial statements. 

Financial statements for 2015 presented by the local councils of Birġu, Kirkop, Mosta and Qrendi lacked documentation, were improperly recorded, were missing key components and sometimes contained conflicting figures, the NAO noted. 

Although the NAO report highlighted the above four councils as being the biggest culprits, they were by no means the only local councils to fall significantly short of auditing standards. 

Six months after the original April 2016 deadline, three local councils - Valletta, Għaxaq and San Lawrenz - as well as the Gozo and Northern Regional Committees had still been unable to provide the NAO audited financial statements. Nine Joint Committees were also unable to provide audited statements. 

"There is surely no need to emphasise that such situation is unacceptable," the NAO said. 

The NAO was forced to qualify its audit opinion for an incredible 43 out of 65 local councils, as well as for three regional committees and for the Local Councils' Association. 

Furthermore, the financial statements of 31 local councils, one regional committee and the LCA for the year under review "lacked appropriate disclosures," the NAO found. 

23 local councils recorded a negative working capital in the Statement of Financial Position, and 24 registered a deficit in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. 

The NAO findings reflect similar findings in previous years, with the Auditor-General's office regularly finding shortcomings in many local councils' financial statements. 

Despite regional committees having taken control of managing wardens back in 2011, "the liquidation process of the nine Joint Committees still has not yet initiated," the NAO said, with "no indication that the process has officially commenced."

The full report can be found on the NAO website. 

Northern Committee denies NAO claims

In a statement issued three weeks after the NAO report was published, the Northern Regional Committee denied claims that it had missed auditing deadlines by more than six months. 

Audited accounts had been sent to the NAO's offices on August 24, the committee said. It blamed the delay on the auditing firm hired by the NAO itself, saying the company "had not managed to work its report earlier."