The professional services firm BDO Auditores S.L.P. has completed the audit report of the abbreviated annual accounts of the Foundation of Las Palmas Ports, validating the integrity of its financial statements and confirming that no significant risks or material misstatements have been identified that require communication as key control aspects. The opinion issued by the independent auditor reaffirms that the accounts present a true picture of the assets and financial situation of the entity, in accordance with the Spanish accounting regulatory framework.
In their final analysis, the auditors concluded that the use of the going concern principle by management is correct, currently ruling out immediate material uncertainties, while confirming that the structure of the balance sheet accurately reflects the economic facts and underlying transactions of the Foundation.
Since the time of Montoro!
However, the auditors have incorporated a critical analytical element through an emphasis paragraph in their opinion. BDO draws attention to what is revealed in Note 1 of the abbreviated memorandum, where it is stated that the Board of Trustees of the Foundation unanimously agreed to participate in the legal process to lose its status as a State Public Foundation. This agreement entails assuming all necessary financial and administrative commitments to execute the disaffiliation, a procedure that, at the time of the report’s issuance, remains pending definitive resolution by the General State Administration. The firm clarifies that this fact does not modify or condition its favorable opinion on the accounts.
The Order HAP/1816/2013, of October 2, issued by the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations under the direction of Cristóbal Montoro, represented the key regulatory framework for executing the reform plan designed by the Commission for the Reform of Public Administrations (CORA). This legal provision authorized the drastic restructuring of more than one-third of the state public foundation sector through processes of extinction, merger, or asset disaffiliation aimed at eliminating duplicities and correcting public spending deficits.
Within this package of measures, formally included in Section 3 of its Annex II, the Fundación Canaria Puertos de Las Palmas was specifically listed, decreeing the start of legal proceedings for this entity to cease to be regarded as a state public foundation. The process of privatization or optimization of its legal status required compliance with strict administrative controls, including a favorable financial report from the General Intervention of the State Administration (IGAE) aimed at auditing the final destination of previous public contributions and ensuring the full operational autonomy of the Canary Island port institution regarding the consolidated state balance.
The technical document precisely delineates the distribution of governance responsibilities. The Board of Directors is the legally responsible body for formulating and preparing the abbreviated annual accounts, having to ensure the implementation of the necessary internal control to safeguard the integrity of the financial information.
