Audit report on legal board's 18 years of finances to be tabled in Parliament 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Financial statements for the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB), which went unaudited for nearly 18 years, are now being audited and are expected to be tabled in Parliament by 2027.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said the National Audit Department (NAD) has begun auditing statements for the 2008 to 2012 period, following years of delay.


He said the board is also preparing its 2013 to 2025 financial statements in stages. These will be submitted to the NAD once board approval is secured.

"Based on input from the National Audit Department, the audit of LPQB's financial statements is expected to be included in the Auditor-General's Report and presented to Parliament in 2027," he told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Kulasegaran was replying to Teresa Kok (PH–Seputeh), who asked for the status of the 2007–2025 audits and their expected tabling date.

He said that a coordination meeting between the NAD and LPQB was held on Oct 21 last year to initiate the process. The board subsequently approved the 2008–2012 statements on Oct 29.


While the documents were submitted to the NAD on Oct 30, 2025, the board was later instructed to revise them to meet the specific format required for statutory bodies.

"The LPQB resubmitted the 2008 to 2012 statements in the required format on Jan 16," Kulasegaran said.


He attributed the identification of the prolonged delay to repeated reminders in the Dewan Rakyat. He added that legislative amendments were made in 2024 to facilitate improvements.

"There is a possibility that follow-up action could be taken under existing regulations," he said when asked by Kok if action would be taken against officers for negligence.

Replying to a supplementary question from Dr Abdul Ghani Ahmad (PN–Jerlun) on why the board was still allowed to collect fees despite the lack of audits, Kulasegaran said the government preferred reform over dissolution.

"At prima facie, there is no misuse or abuse of power in these finances," he said, adding that the NAD would conduct a comprehensive audit to ensure public accountability.

Source: NST