The General Auditing Commission (GAC) has conducted a comprehensive audit on the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) for the period ending December 2022, with the Auditor General, P. Garswa Jackson, giving an opinion on the audit report, which financial experts say it suggests an “unqualified audit report”.
An unqualified audit report, also called a “clean opinion”, is the most favorable type of audit report—that an organization’s financial statements are accurate, complete, and presented fairly in accordance with applicable accounting standards.
Even though an unqualified opinion is not a guarantee against all potential issues, it however indicates that the auditor found no material misstatements or significant errors that would mislead users of the financial statements.
In a letter dated October 6, 2025 and addressed to Dewitt vonBallmoos, Director General of NASCORP, the Auditor General of the Republic of Liberia, P. Garswa Jackson, said the GAC has audited the financial statements of the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2022, which comprises the statement of financial position, income statement, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information.
“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly the statement of financial position, statement of financial performance, cash flow statement, statement of comparison of the budget and actual amounts and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes for the year ended in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP),” the Auditor General’s opinion observed.
Giving the basis for his opinion, Auditor General Jackson said, “We conducted our audit in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of NASSCORP, in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of our financial statements, and we have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities. What we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.”
Although the Auditor General raised concern over inappropriate financial reporting requirements, which is solely the responsibility of NASSCORP’s management, financial experts say this type of report demonstrates compliance with standards like the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and is a sign of good financial health and trustworthiness.
They say an “unqualified opinion” of the Auditor General does not mean there were no misstatements found in NASSCORP’s audit; rather, any misstatements identified were either corrected by NASSCORP or were not significant enough to be material. It also does not mean that NASSCORP is perfectly compliant with all the ISAAIs audit laws, rules and regulations, or that its spending is always economical, effective or efficient. According to them, the auditor’s opinion is however significant because it provides a clean opinion that builds trust with stakeholders and restores credibility.
