Statement by the Ministry of Finance on the Auditor-General’s Report FY2025/26

1. On behalf of public agencies, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) would like to thank the Auditor-General and his officers for the Report of the Auditor-General FY2025/26.

2. The Auditor-General has issued an unmodified audit opinion on the Government Financial Statements. This is an independent verification that the Government’s accounts are prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with the law and public funds have been properly accounted for.

3. The Government takes the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO)’s observations seriously and has taken steps to address them. Where lapses are identified, agencies investigate the root causes thoroughly and take corrective actions promptly. These include recovering any over-payment, enhancing processes, better leveraging technology and taking disciplinary actions where warranted.

4. The Government takes a serious view of any irregularities identified in the records furnished for audit. We will act decisively where there are indications of wrongdoing. Cases have been referred to the Police where there are grounds to do so. Any wrongdoing will be dealt with seriously and appropriate action will be taken against those involved.

Overall Audit Observations

5. We will continue to improve in these key areas:

   1. Contract Management
      Agencies are stepping up risk-based checks to detect irregularities in quotations provided by contractors. A central repository to facilitate sharing of fixed schedules of rates across Government has been implemented to facilitate agencies’ assessment of star rates^[1]. This is complemented with a good practice guide on assessing star rates.
      
      The Government is building up the capabilities of public officers and external consultants involved in contract management, especially on the evaluation of star rate items. We have enhanced targeted training in areas such as valuation of variations, verification of work done, supporting documentation, and assessment of star rate items prior to payment. We will continue to work through the Building & Infrastructure Centre of Excellence under JTC, the BCA Academy and the Finance and Procurement Academy, to better equip officers responsible for contract management.
      
      

   2.  Management of Operations
      Agencies will improve the controls and governance over their operations to ensure adequate oversight and effective safeguards. This includes using technology for system checks and information retrieval, using data analytics to carry out targeted checks and facilitate monitoring, and providing more training to enhance the knowledge and skillsets of officers.
      
      

   3.  Management of Revenue
      Agencies with identified lapses will tighten their processes, take corrective action, and ensure compliance with the prevailing rules and guidelines on the implementation and collection of taxes, fees and charges.
      
      

   4. Management of Grant and Priority Schemes
      The Grants Governance Framework provides central guidance to agencies which includes requirements for checks to verify eligibility and to ensure that system validation checks are adequate and working as intended. The Government will incorporate learning points from AGO’s findings in the central guidelines and resources, as well as enhance training, to strengthen grant officers’ capabilities and bolster compliance.
      
      

   5. Financial Controls
      Agencies will tighten their internal process and take remediation measures to ensure necessary approvals are obtained before committing to projects and for material variations in project scope.  
      
      

   6. IT Controls
      Agencies have taken prompt remedial actions to strengthen their controls and tighten internal processes to address the weaknesses observed. The Government has also strengthened support and provided clearer guidance to agencies on privileged account management in recent years. We will continue to reinforce these requirements and ensure that privileged access is consistently and robustly managed.
      
      

   7. Possible Irregularities in Records Furnished for Audit
      The agencies involved have conducted or are conducting investigations and will take the necessary actions, including referring the case to the Police if there are grounds to do so. It has been emphasised to agencies that furnishing of false information for audit purposes will be dealt with seriously, and officers will be subject to disciplinary action, including dismissal, if warranted.
      
      

   8. Thematic Audit Observations on Training Grants
      AGO noted that in general, processes and controls were in place across the various grants stages to ensure proper management of the training grants. Good practices that SSG and WSG had implemented were also observed. AGO also noted areas for improvement, such as controls to ensure grants are disbursed to eligible recipients, monitoring of grant intermediaries as well as tackling potential gaming. SSG and WSG (now merged as SWDA) will address these areas for improvement robustly.
      
      Frameworks, guidelines, and other resources are developed, rolled out and continually reviewed to strengthen guidance to agencies. This includes the Grants Governance Framework and fraud risk management checklist. To better equip grant officers, e-learning courses have been developed, such as the “Fraud Awareness for Grant Officers” module launched in September 2025. Digital tools have been made available to agencies to enable them to perform analytics for enhanced due diligence checks on grant applications and identify irregularities in submitted documents.

Other Areas for Improvement 

6. AGO also highlighted three other areas for improvement relating to procurement evaluations, addressing detected errors in fee collections and payments, and management of conflict-of-interest (COI) declarations. Agencies are strengthening internal controls and tightening processes in these areas. We will also continue to reinforce the importance of managing COI to public officers and improve their understanding of the established policies and procedures.

Upholding High Standards of Accountability and Governance

7. The Public Service is committed to upholding our standards of governance, integrity and accountability. Good practices and areas for improvement will be shared across public agencies.

8. The FY2025/26 AGO Report observed good practices such as the increasing adoption of automated tools and data analytics to improve efficiency and strengthen compliance. We will continue these efforts to keep pace with the changing operating environment and evolving risks. We will take onboard the lessons from the report to strengthen the management of public resources and reinforce a culture of good governance across the Public Service.

Issued by: 
Ministry of Finance 
Singapore
15 July 2026

^[1] Items not listed in the schedule of rates within the contracts.