By Kebba AF Touray
An audit conducted by Augustus Prom Audit Firm has revealed that the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) failed to provide a loan policy for the disbursement of D14.34 million to pensioners.
The finding was highlighted in the firm’s management report on SSHFC, which noted that as of December 31, 2022, the outstanding balance due from pensioners stood at D14.34 million.
“We requested the loan policy for the loans disbursed to pensioners, but this was not provided for our review. We were only given the board approval,” the report stated.
The absence of a loan policy raises concerns about transparency, consistency, and adherence to established guidelines for loan disbursement and repayment. The firm noted that providing board approval without a corresponding loan policy suggests a lack of comprehensive oversight and documented procedures for managing loans to pensioners.
The audit also flagged inefficiencies in pension data management, particularly the reliance on manual records maintained in Excel. The report cautioned that such methods are prone to errors, data entry mistakes, and formula discrepancies, which could lead to inaccurate pension calculations.
“The absence of a direct link between the pension register and the system used for pension payroll extraction increases the risk of errors during data transfer,” the report warned.
To address these issues, the audit firm recommended that SSHFC implement an automated pension register system directly linked to the pension payroll extraction process. Additionally, it suggested a regular reconciliation process between the pension register and payroll system to ensure data consistency.
Regarding the loan policy, Augustus Prom urged SSHFC to develop a comprehensive framework outlining the criteria, terms, conditions, and procedures for granting, monitoring, and recovering loans disbursed to pensioners.
In response to the audit findings, SSHFC management acknowledged the concerns and stated that the corporation has acquired an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system known as the Social Security Management Information System (SSMIS).
“This system will address the issue of pension management holistically when it becomes fully operational,” SSHFC management stated.
On the issue of loans to pensioners, SSHFC admitted that it currently does not have a formal loan policy, but emphasized that board approval was provided for the facility.
The corporation reiterated that the implementation of SSMIS would resolve pension management challenges once fully operational.
