BCCI calls for tighter controls in government’s Smart Stream 

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry has written to Prime Minister John Briceño, calling for stronger safeguards in the government’s financial management systems following the recent concerns over procurement and payment processing.  In a letter dated June 29, BCCI President Giacomo Sanchez said the Chamber supports the Government’s decision to investigate the reported irregularities. While stopping short of commenting on any specific case, the Chamber says the situation highlights the need for better controls to protect public funds and maintain public confidence.  The BCCI is recommending upgrades to the SmartStream accounting system, or the introduction of another automated monitoring system that can work alongside it. The Chamber says the goal should be to catch questionable transactions before payments are made, instead of identifying problems only after the fact.  Among its recommendations are limits on how many invoices can be processed for one supplier in a single day, automatic alerts for unusual transactions, stronger checks against duplicate invoices and payments, and clearer separation between officers who enter payments and those who approve them.  The Chamber is also calling for better audit trails, tighter access controls for users of the system, real-time reporting of suspicious transactions, and regular technical audits of the accounting platform itself.  According to the BCCI, many of those changes could be introduced without waiting for the current investigation or the wider review of procurement rules to be completed. It says early action would show that the Government is serious about strengthening accountability across the public service.  The Chamber has also urged the Government to improve the internal audit function, publish audit reports on time, and ensure that recommendations are acted on instead of being allowed to sit without follow-up.