Finance Minister Eugene Cox yesterday got hold of the wrong end of the stick in a row over outstanding accounts for Government money.

Mr. Cox, who appeared to misinterpret an article based on a report from Auditor Larry Dennis, leapt to the defence of the Accountant General's office, which was not mentioned in the article.

In a written statement made on his behalf he said the "inferences'' made appeared to blame the Accountant General for more than 20 sets of accounts outstanding for several years.

The article mentioned only a series of sets of accounts from various bodies -- including those responsible for pensions and insurance funds and Parish Councils.

And Mr. Dennis' statements were clearly aimed at accounting officers of the various bodies -- the same phrase used by Mr. Cox in his statement -- not the Accountant General.

Mr. Cox yesterday did not return several calls from The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Cox's statement added that the Ministry of Finance has approved revised Financial Instructions to be released in April, which all Accounting Officers will be held to.

The statement added -- in line with Mr. Dennis' quotes in The Royal Gazette -- that "significant strides'' in addressing the backlog of accounting had been made.

And in the only reference to the fact that his Progressive Labour Party only assumed power last year, the statement said that "it cannot be expected that the Accountant General can undo in five years a situation that it has taken some 30 years to create.'' The statement added: "There is still much to do and it is recognised that sufficient additional resources must be provided in order to assist this effort.

"Technical officers in the Ministry of Finance are currently addressing this matter with a view to boosting the staff in the Accountant General's Department, particularly in the area of internal audit.'' The statment said: "The Accountant General is the Chief Accounting Officer for the Government of Bermuda.

"It is her responsibility to provide a full accounting of the activities of the Government.

"However, this cannot be accomplished without the timely and complete reporting from Accounting Officers -- Heads of Departments and Ministries -- who are responsible for the control of funds voted by the Legislature.'' The Royal Gazette reported on "organisations entrusted with public money'' and "the annual reports of 15 organistations or funds'' -- all direct quotes from Mr. Dennis' report.

Mr. Dennis' report spoke of reports outstanding from the mid-90s, although it did contain financial updates in some instances to November, 1998 -- the month the PLP took power.