Questions over revenues at Technopolis cultural center
Chartered accountants who carried out an audit on the operation last year of cafes and concession stands at Technopolis, the City of Athens?s cultural complex, discovered that ?nontransparent procedures? and ?administrative aberrations? had cost City Hall some 478,000 euros in lost revenue, it emerged on Wednesday.
According to the auditors? findings, staff at Technopolis did not observe ?taxation and administrative regulations concerning the use of cash registers.?
In a press release issued yesterday in reaction to the findings, the City of Athens said it was ?determined to take all necessary action in order to further examine the matter, to attribute responsibility where necessary and to safeguard the legitimate interests of the municipality and its citizens.?
As for the lost revenue, amounting to 478,000 euros for 2010 alone, the statement noted, ?It would be reasonable to ask why Technopolis did not receive these funds.?
The statement added that the cultural complex?s new management, which took over in January when the new mayor of Athens,Giorgos Kaminis, assumed office, ?implemented a series of measures aimed at ensuring that the cafes and concessions stands operated in accordance with the rules of ethical management.? These measures have already led to a significant increase in revenue despite a simultaneous reduction in prices, the statement said.
The former president of Technopolis, Fotis Ignatiou, who was at the helm of the cultural complex during the period of the audit, was apparently taken aback by the findings. ?I am surprised that although nothing has changed in the administration of Technopolis, the same chartered accountants found problems that they had never discovered in the past,? Ignatiou told Kathimerini. Asked to comment about a reference in the accountants? report to the alleged use of two different types of cash register by the Technopolis staff – one type that issued legal receipts and one that didn?t – Ignatiou said that the second type of register was used for backup.
