9 July 2024

For a second year in a row, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) received an “unqualified opinion” from the Commission on Audit (COA) for its financial statement submitted for the fiscal year 2023.

The Audit Rating, known as an unqualified opinion or unmodified opinion, is given to a government agency by COA after concluding that the financial statements are in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.

This year’s distinction, following its first “unqualified opinion” in 2022, is a reflection of the Commission’s continuous transparency and accountability in implementing and delivering its programs and services.

“When I assumed CHED Chairmanship in 2018, I initiated serious fiscal accountability reforms which positively impacted our audit rating manifested in our first unqualified opinion from COA for our financial statement in 2022,” CHED Secretary De Vera said.

“In 2023, we continued to implement reforms including increasing our disbursement rate and complying with the shift to cash based budgeting. We also closely monitored and improved the practices of our regional offices that continue to have audit observations,” De Vera added.

CHED has also been improving the documentation and account reporting systems from higher education institutions (HEIs) by clearing all their unliquidated funds before they can even apply for project grants.

Moreover, the Commission is implementing stricter procurement processes for CHED programs and projects.

“COA is a constitutional body tasked with promoting accountability in the use of public funds. CHED recognizes the vital role of COA and acts on its audit observations promptly. We commend the work done by COA Auditor Gloria Baylon and her team and we will continue to work with them in stamping out corruption and wastage of public funds,” De Vera said.

“This achievement is the product of a team effort. CHED succeeds only because of its employees in the central and regional offices, and the stakeholders in higher education institutions are working hard to ensure that we deliver and implement our programs and projects with all honesty and fairness. So I thank the entire CHED workforce and the different HEIs for their good work,” he added.

(SIGNED)
J. PROSPERO E. DE VERA III, DPA
Chairman
Commission on Higher Education