The Gwich’in councils in Aklavik, Inuvik, Teetl’it Zheh and Tsiigehtchic will be undergoing a forensic audit.
Grand Chief Ken Kyikavichik said the audit was to improve governance and financial reporting within the four councils, as well as improve transparency for Gwich’in members.
“This is especially important given our current Nation-building efforts as we pursue a Final Agreement on Gwich’in Government,” he added.
Tony Devlin the communications advisor for the Gwich’in Tribal Council.
He said the GTC and its entities have kept up with annual reporting with its own auditing firm, and so will not be subject to this one.
He added that two of the councils are overdue by two years in their annual audits, and the other two organizations have transactions that are lacking proper documentation.
“The GTC Board (who are appointed by the DGOs) felt this would be a good opportunity to set a foundation to build from moving into future Gwich’in Government by being transparent and accountable so we can move forward without hesitation,” said Devlin.
