incompetence in handling millions of dollars of taxpayers' money, Auditor Larry Dennis said yesterday.

He added: "That would be very useful -- I think requests have been made for more staff since 1994.

"The staff has been increased, or permission has been given for that in the last few months. This Accountant General recognises the problems, but without the staff it's impossible to address them.'' Mr. Dennis -- the independent watchdog for Government spending -- was speaking after releasing a damning report on the mishandling of piles of public cash by a host of Government or Government-funded bodies.

The report, for the financial years ending 1996 and 1997, revealed that millions of dollars of public money is not properly accounted for.

And it reported that hundreds of thousands of dollars are wasted because of sloppy management.

Dennis warns about unsigned contracts: Page 3 Govt. waste uncovered The Royal Gazette revealed on Saturday that the Bermuda Hospitals Board has haemorraged cash due to bad management.

And on Monday, it was reported that quarter of a billion dollars in Government pension and insurance funds had not been properly accounted for, while the Contributory Pension Fund had overpaid benefits by a whopping $750,000 -- because of an arithmetical error.

Mr. Dennis said that the reports contained information up until October last year. But he admitted: "The answer to whether things have got better would be `no, obviously not.' There's only been a few months gone by and things have not substantially changed.'' He added: "The hospitals' problems are almost an example of what's happening across the board.

"The fact is, the Government's accounting systems are just not working -- and accounting is not rocket science. If two and two makes four, let's make sure it balances.'' Mr. Dennis said the Accountant General's office was responsible for policing Government spending, although ultimate authority rested with the Ministry of Finance.

He added: "The Accountant General has done a marvellous job in trying to come to grips with a major problem -- unfortunately it's impossible for her to catch up with the staff she's got.

"People have to make a conscious effort to help her catch up. The problems are addressable -- they're very addressable.

"The Accountant General recognises the problem, but without the staff, it's impossible to address them.'' Mr. Dennis said problems with Government accounting stretched back at least as long as he had held the job of Auditor -- 20 years.

He added that the problems had got worse as the amounts of money involved grew and Bermudian society became more complex.

Mr. Dennis admitted he had tried to get Governments to grasp the scale of the problem "out of the limelight'' -- but went public when his pleas fell on deaf ears.

He said: "Why the problem wasn't addressed years ago, I don't know -- that's what I'm hoping will come out of this. Attention has to be given to it. People have to recognise the importance of a good accounting system.'' Mr. Dennis added that his feeling was that accounting had traditionally been regarded as the Cinderella of Government spending.

He said: "Historically, I think accounting has been the stepchild of Government departments.

"Nobody gets credit for spending on accounting -- it's not a social programme. So we've had a very poor outcome on accounting, especially in the Government sector.'' But Mr. Dennis said there could be light at the end of the financial tunnel.

He added: "I do feel there has been more recognition of the problem and a stronger intention to resolve it.

"I think the change of Government has probably made some of the difference -- but with the present Accountant General coming in in 1994, things started to change.''