Cyprus is grappling with significant delays in the submission of financial statements from public organizations, including municipalities, community councils, and school boards. According to the Auditor General’s office, by December 31, 2025, a total of 6,734 financial statements from 653 organizations will remain pending for the period 1995–2023.
The delay is particularly severe in the case of school boards, with 59 boards having accumulated a staggering 501 years of overdue submissions. The longest delays are found in the Cyprus Sewage Boards (S.A.), with Kyperounta at the forefront, having delayed submissions for 24 years. Palaichori and Oreini communities have also faced 23 years of delays.
As outlined in the Auditor General’s report by Andreas Papaconstantinou, 352 of the 653 organizations are community councils, 182 are school boards, 81 belong to other public law organizations, and 38 are municipalities.
Out of the 6,734 pending financial statements, 5,449 (80.9%) have been assigned but not yet audited by private auditors, while 929 (13.8%) were never submitted to the Audit Office, breaching the law. Notably, 4,265 (63.3%) of these outstanding statements pertain to years before 2020.
The Auditor General’s office also highlighted the significant backlog that has accumulated since the outsourcing of audits to private auditors in 2014. At that time, 1,292 statements were pending. By 2023, the number of unexamined financial statements had skyrocketed to 6,734, showing a sharp increase over the years.
Notably, some municipalities that previously had delays of 4–8 years in submitting their financial statements no longer exist due to mergers under the local government reform. This includes the municipality of Aglantzia, which had an 8-year delay.
In the period from 1995 to 2023, the number of delayed financial statements grew from 9 during 1995–1999 to 83 in 2000–2004, 600 in 2005–2009, 1,292 in 2010–2014, 2,281 in 2015–2019, and reached 2,469 in 2020–2023.
The community councils alone account for 4,118 of the total outstanding financial statements, while school boards have 1,897, other public law organizations have 482, and municipalities account for 237.
The Auditor General views the prevailing situation as unacceptable and primarily illegal, as it violates the legal provisions that require financial statements to be submitted for audit within four months after the end of each financial year.
According to the Auditor General, these delays undermine the reliability of financial information and hinder the authorities’ ability to take corrective measures on time. He also noted that the timely submission and completion of financial audits is essential to enhancing transparency and protecting the public interest.