Margao: Margao Municipal Council’s decision to hire a chartered accountant to prepare its annual budget ran into trouble at Tuesday’s meeting, as Opposition councillor Francis Jones raised errors early in the proceedings.This is the first time the council outsourced the budget after criticism of unrealistic estimates prepared by its staff.
The move was meant to improve credibility.However, Jones pointed out mistakes in the revised estimates for 2025-26, saying the closing balance did not match the council’s actual income. He noted that since one year’s closing balance becomes the next year’s opening balance, the error could affect the entire financial system.During the meeting, the accounts team and chartered accountant Anup Borkar checked the figures to find the issue, while proceedings were paused.The errors were later identified and corrected, after which the council approved a surplus budget of Rs 87.6 crore.
