Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards has questioned who’s running the Accountant General’s office following news that a second senior staff member is on leave.Assistant Accountant General David King is reported to be out of the office on educational and personal leave.The Royal Gazette reported on Wednesday that Accountant General Joyce Hayward had been placed on administrative leave with pay and benefits.Civil servants may be placed on such a leave while an investigation takes place into allegations of misconduct.The Royal Gazette also understands that Mannard Packwood, who had been the Assistant Accountant General, has moved to the Tax Commissioner's office.A notice in the Official Gazette yesterday stated that Roseann Foy, another Assistant Accountant General, is acting as Accountant General until December 14.Mr Richards described it as an “unfortunate” situation“.“The public need to be told who is minding the till,” he stated. “Who is in charge? Particularly in view of the financial difficulties that Bermuda is in, and the difficulties for the Government, it’s not a good arrangement because there are no reserves and every dollar counts.”The Government website states the Accountant General’s Department is responsible for all monies paid into or out of the Bermuda Government and monitors the funds flowing throughout all government accounts. It also manages working capital to ensure the Government is “sufficiently liquid to cover all operating expenditures whilst at the same time maximising Government’s return on its cash holdings”.The Finance Ministry issued the following release last night: “For the public’s general information, it should be noted that when any senior government post is vacant for any reason, arrangements are made for cover of the core duties and responsibilities of the post. The Accountant General’s Department has several qualified accountants to ensure the department is run effectively.“Also for the general public’s interest, it should be noted that the Government has long concluded the implementation of a government accounting infrastructure that involved placing qualified accountants throughout Government at the departmental or Ministry level, to ensure all accounting needs are met.”Mr Richards said the name Accountant General is actually a misnomer.“It is the Government treasury; they are managing the treasury. Two senior people are not there. This is not satisfactory. The public demands answers to this situation.“The Government has not got a good record here and we can’t understand how the two senior people who manage the treasury are not there at the same time.This is of grave concern.He added that the General Election could see a new Finance Minister.“It would certainly put the Minister of Finance in a more difficult situation than [they] would be already in the circumstances. It’s already a difficult job.”