A New Age for Public Auditing
July 2001: Robert Buchanan and Kevin Simpkins introduce the Public Audit Act 2001 (PDF, 4 pages, 62kB). Originally published in the Chartered Accountants Journal and reproduced here by kind permission of the Editor of the Journal.
New Zealand Customs Service: Providing assurance about revenue
July 2011: We carried out a performance audit to review how effectively the New Zealand Customs Service plans and supports its revenue assurance activities...
Home-based support services for older people
July 2011: We carried out a performance audit to establish how effective the Ministry of Health and district health boards are in ensuring that, where appropriate, people aged 65 and over (older people) get the care and support they need to remain living independently at home...
Appointing public sector auditors and setting audit fees
August 2011: This document sets out the processes that the Auditor-General uses to appoint auditors and set audit fees in a way that is sound, fair, and transparent...
Planning to meet the forecast demand for drinking water in Auckland
August 2011: A letter from the Auditor-General to the Chief Executives of Auckland Council and Watercare Services Limited on governance issues and a report on our initial findings and recommendations for Watercare to consider when developing its long-term plans for asset management and for funding arrangements...
The Emissions Trading Scheme - summary information for public entities and auditors
August 2011: This document informs public entities and their auditors about how the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) operates and how it is likely to affect them. It summarises information about the ETS that we have gathered from the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Economic Development…
Inquiry into the use of parliamentary travel entitlements by Mr and Mrs Wong
September 2011: This report sets out our conclusions on our inquiry into the use of parliamentary travel entitlements by Mr and Mrs Wong, while Mrs Wong was a member of Parliament (MP)...
Government planning and support for housing on Māori land
September 2011: We examined the effectiveness of government support for Māori seeking to build housing on their land. We found that, despite good intentions, the process to build a house on Māori land is fraught. Lessons have not been learned from past attempts, so the initiatives are not effectively targeted and the processes are not streamlined...
New Zealand Transport Agency: Delivering maintenance and renewal work on the state highway network
September 2011: This is the second of two reports presenting the findings of our performance audits on NZTA's maintenance and renewal of the network...
Local government: Improving the usefulness of annual reports
September 2011: This discussion paper sets out the legal requirements, provides examples of improved reporting, and aims to encourage ongoing improvements in local authorities' performance reporting...
Managing freshwater quality: Challenges for regional councils
September 2011: We carried out an audit to provide an independent view of how effectively four selected regional councils are managing and controlling land use and related activities for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing freshwater quality in their regions...
Annual Report 2010/11
September 2011, ISSN 1179-8963 (print), ISSN 1179-8971 (online).
Transpower New Zealand Limited: Managing risks to transmission assets
September 2011: We audited how well Transpower is managing risks to the transmission system. We wanted to establish whether the owner and operator of the national electricity grid understood well the capacity constraints facing the grid and the risks posed by the condition of the grid assets, and was using this understanding to better maintain and invest in the grid...
The Treasury: Implementing and managing the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme
September 2011: We carried out a performance audit of the Treasury's implementation and management of the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme, given the Scheme's significance for our economy at the time and the amount of money involved...
Cleanest public sector in the world: Keeping fraud at bay
November 2011: Results of a survey on fraud awareness, prevention, and detection in New Zealand’s public sector...
Managing the implications of public private partnerships
November 2011: This discussion paper has been written to inform public sector leaders and decision-makers considering partnering with the private sector about the general features of PPPs and the factors that are seen as important in sustaining an appropriate "enabling" environment for all PPPs...
Education sector: Results of the 2010/11 audits
December 2011: This report provides an overview of the results of our audits of, and work with, public entities in the education sector in 2010/11...
Central government: Results of the 2010/11 audits (Volume 1)
December 2011: ISBN 978-0-478-38331-7 (print) and ISBN 978-0-478-38332-4 (online).
New Zealand Blood Service: Managing the safety and supply of blood products
February 2012: We carried out a performance audit that found that the Blood Service effectively supplies safe blood and blood products to patients in our health system...
Health sector: Results of the 2010/11 audits
March 2012: ISBN 978-0-478-38340-9 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-38341-6 (online).
Central government: Results of the 2010/11 audits (Volume 2)
March 2012: ISBN 978-0-478-38342-3 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-38343-0 (online).
Overview of the Auditor-General’s work in the transport sector
March 2012: This document gives an overview of the role of the Auditor-General and outlines the kind of advice and support that the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee can expect from us. It also provides a description of the transport sector and its strategic significance, and describes our work in general and, specifically, in the transport sector.
Summary of our fraud survey results for government departments
March 2012: Cleanest public sector in the world: Keeping fraud at bay.
Local government: Results of the 2010/11 audits
April 2012, ISBN 978-0-478-38347-8 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-38348-5 (online)
Inquiry into how Christchurch City Council managed conflicts of interest when it made decisions about insurance cover
April 2012: The Office of the Auditor-General received correspondence in late 2011, raising concerns about Mr Tony Marryatt’s roles as a director of Civic Assurance and as chief executive of Christchurch City Council. Our report and letter in response are reproduced here.
Summary of our fraud survey results for local authorities
April 2012: Cleanest public sector in the world: Keeping fraud at bay.
Summary of our fraud survey results for district health boards
April 2012: Cleanest public sector in the world: Keeping fraud at bay.
Public entities' progress in implementing the Auditor-General's recommendations 2012
April 2012: This progress report looks at how well some public entities have acted on the recommendations that we made in six performance audit reports published in 2009 and 2010.
Summary of our fraud survey results for tertiary education institutions
April 2012: Cleanest public sector in the world: Keeping fraud at bay.
Summary of our fraud survey results
April 2012: Summary of our fraud survey results for Crown research institutes, Autonomous Crown entities, Crown agents or companies, Independent Crown entities, and Central government - other.
