Panayiotis Rougalas
Thousands of financial reports from Cyprus’ wider public sector have still not been audited, some going back almost three decades, raising fresh concerns about transparency and how public money is monitored.
A special report by the Audit Office found that more than 6,700 financial statements covering the years 1995 to 2023 are still pending review, despite a legal requirement for public organizations to submit their accounts within four months after each financial year ends.
The biggest delays are linked to community councils and school boards, which together make up the vast majority of outstanding cases. Community councils alone account for over 4,100 unaudited reports, while school boards have nearly 1,900 pending. Municipalities and other public organizations make up the rest.
The problem has grown steadily worse over the years. In the late 1990s, only a handful of reports were overdue. Today, the numbers have ballooned, with nearly 2,500 financial statements from just the 2020–2023 period still awaiting audit.
According to the Audit Office, most of the reports, about 81%, have already been submitted and handed to private auditors but have yet to be examined. Another 14% were never submitted at all, while a smaller portion is still waiting to be assigned for auditing.
Auditors warn that these delays weaken public oversight because financial checks are meant to confirm how taxpayers’ money is spent and to flag problems early. When audits are completed years late, authorities lose the chance to act quickly if something goes wrong.
The Audit Office noted that since 2014 it has relied on private auditors to help handle the workload, but the system has shown “serious weaknesses,” allowing a large backlog to build up.
The report cautions that slow audits limit proper public information and accountability, creating conditions where waste or mismanagement of public funds can go unnoticed for years.
