The accounts of NI Water will be forensically examined in order to ascertain why the public body has been unable to live within its resource budget allocation this year
The Department for Infrastructure has confirmed that it has engaged forensic accountancy services.
The decision to start the process of appointing a forensic accountant, which was announced today by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins in an Oral Statement to the Assembly, comes after NI Water informed the Department that it is forecasting an overspend for this financial year.
Speaking in the Assembly, Minister Kimmins said: “Protecting public funds is of the utmost importance, particularly in light of the wider pressures faced not only in my own Department, but across all areas of public services.
“Difficult decisions are having to be made across all Departments and Arm’s Length Bodies and therefore it is essential that I fully understand the budgetary management decisions that the Board of NI Water has taken this year that have led to this disappointing outcome.
“My decision to appoint a forensic accountant is a necessary step, that takes a measured approach, to help us work in partnership with NI Water and enable better planning going forward in these times of constrained budgets.”
