Departments -- especially the health department -- are overspending and the government desperately needs more accountants.

Five departments overspent by more than $32 million -- without getting approval from the legislative assembly, which is against the law.

The government is also failing to keep track of records. Some departments had difficulty coming up with expense vouchers and signed copies of revenue agreements. So did Aurora College and Nunavut Development Corporation.

The lack of qualified financial managers leaves the government vulnerable to fraud, said the report.

"With small groups, organizing duties to reduce the risk of fraud is difficult," the report said.

Nunavut Finance Minister Kevin Ng said he is worried about fraud. "Hopefully, nothing has happened. We haven't uncovered any serious cases. That's not to say there haven't been any."

Ng said the government recently started a program to train more beneficiaries in accounting. Education and work training in this area is subsidized by the Government of Nunavut.

The auditor general's analysis stated the underlying issue is the government's youth. Ng agreed.

"We are relatively new still and working all the kinks out."

He couldn't resist a jab at the federal government.

"Other jurisdictions undergo the same thing at different times. It's not unique to Nunavut. If you look at what happened with the federal government and gun control, that's a way worse example ... so it's all relative I guess."