2003/04

A list of our work produced between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004.
Inland Revenue Department: Performance of Taxpayer Audit

July 2003: Taxpayers need to know that there are efficient systems in place to ensure that all people pay their appropriate share of tax. Each year the IRD audits thousands of taxpayers to detect non-compliance with tax laws, and to deter potential non-compliance in the future. Taxpayer audits are a major part of the IRD’s work and involve 881 of its 4800 staff...

Managing Threats to Domestic Security

October 2003: In this audit, we set out to provide assurance to Parliament and the public that threats to domestic security are being adequately managed. Our unique mandate as auditor of the public sector enabled us to examine the wide range of arrangements in place to identify and respond to domestic security threats...

Co-ordination and Collaboration in the Criminal Justice Sector

October 2003: The core criminal justice sector is a good example of government agencies that must work together in the interests of effectively performing their role. We were encouraged by the efforts of the sector agencies to work together to a set of common goals. The agencies have also set up a number of arrangements for sharing knowledge and developing agreed strategies...

Social Security Benefits: Accuracy of Benefit Administration

December 2003: In 2002-03, the Ministry of Social Development paid $11,743 million to over 800,000 beneficiaries. Given the very large sums involved, it is clearly important to ensure that payments are made accurately. An avoidable error rate of only 1% would represent a sum of approximately $120 million...

Local Authorities Working Together

May 2004: Working together can be a practical and cost-effective way for local authorities to share experience and resources, tackle common tasks, or take advantage of economies of scale. Working together can bring significant benefits that may not always be in the form of cost savings...