The office of the auditor general has given New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC) an unqualified audit report for the year ended 31 March 2019.
An unqualified audit opinion is the most common type of opinion given by auditors and simply means the independent auditor has seen enough information to conclude the company’s financial statements conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and fairly present the company’s financial position for the period under review.
The recently released report further indicates the state-owned enterprise incurred accumulated losses of more than N$66 million during the year ended 31 March 2019.
The loss is largely attributed to value-added tax and pay as you earn obligations that have historically been neglected and worsened by accrued interest.
As of 31 March 2019, NEPC’s total liabilities exceeded its total assets by N$45 million.
According to Junias Kandjeke’s report, these audited figures “indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. My opinion is not modified in respect of this matter”.
In the report, Kandjeke states that these latest financial statements comprise NEPC’s statement of financial position, statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity, statement of cash flow for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements including a summary of significant accounting policies.
“In my opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of New Era Publication Corporation as of 31 March 2019, and its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards,” the report reads.
The AG noted that the annual financial statements have been prepared on the basis of accounting policies applicable to a going concern.
“This basis presumes that funds will be available to finance future operations and that the realisation of assets and settlement of liabilities, contingent obligations and commitments will occur in the ordinary course of business… The ability of the company to continue as a going concern is dependent on a number of factors. The most significant of these is that the directors continue to secure funding for the ongoing operations for the company,” the report reads.
The AG added that in preparing the financial statements, NEPC “management is responsible for assessing the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting, unless management either intends to liquidate the entity or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so”.