Leigh Trotman, deputy auditor general, said there are people who seek to utilise Government property in addition to Government funds for their own personal use.

"While we may pay more attention to loss of funds, measures should also be in place to safeguard other assets, since in some instances the value of items lost may well exceed any cash losses," Trotman explained.

Referring to previous Auditor-General reports, Trotman said improper keeping of inventory was
the main problem.

"In such situations, losses can go undetected or there can be acquisition of excess equipment or machinery or inventory . . . if the process of poor record-keeping continues, an additional problem will obviously occur in future when we change to the accrual system, and accurate information on inventory is required for submission on financial statements."

Trotman also said several Government properties and vehicles were either not insured or insured substantially below construction costs or market value.

In fact, he said, sometimes vehicles were insured at the same value year after year.

"We have also had some issues in respect of the insurance of buildings where the value of the properties appeared to be exceedingly low," he pointed out.

Trotman made his comments while addressing the Financial Concerns in the Public Sector workshop at the Almond Bay Conference Centre which was organised by the Office of Public Sector Reform.