Role of a PAC Clerk

1. Report Writing: A core responsibility of
a committee clerk

2. What are the core tasks of a PAC Clerk?
 Procedural and handling advice
 Administration
 Managing relationships
 Drafting

3. Drafting is more than just writing – it
involves managing relationships
Managing relationships - There are six core relationships; the good
management of which can be considered essential to the successful clerking
of a PAC. They are managing relationships with and between:
1. The Chair;
2. The Committee;
3. The Auditor General (and his or her office);
4. Parliamentary colleagues (clerking team, research, legal and expert
advisors);
5. The people; and
6. Other parliamentary committees.

4. Why is report writing important to
the PAC?
• Translating oversight into reform →
Accountability = Answerability &
Enforcement
• Government responds to report/
recommendations.
• More important with the introduction of
performance audit reports

5. PAC Reports
PAC reports are a tool of accountability rather than a verbatim transcript
of a PAC hearing.
Analysis is needed to support the recommendations included in a PAC
report:
Cost/ benefit analysis (For each recommendation you should think
about how much it will cost and how much money it will save)
Opportunity cost (Would the recommendation use public resources in
the most efficient way? What opportunities would government need to
forego in order to implement?)
Problem analysis (What are the symptoms and what is the cause of the
problem – what is your recommendation trying to solve?)

6. Recommendations need to be
SMART
(S) Specific - You should state the method for implementing
your recommendation (‘through’, ‘by’)
(M) Measurable – Recommendations will be more
persuasive and easiest to assess whether implemented if
measurable
(A) Achievable - Recommendations should not involve too
little time, or too much money, labour, facilities or risk
(R) Result-orientated - The recommendation should provide
good results for stakeholders
(T) Time-bound - The recommendation should set realistic
deadlines for completion of suggestions

7. Types of Reports
Types of PAC Reports Legislatures that produce these reports
Report on the Comments of the A-
G on the annual accounts and
auditors report
NASS (Senate)
Report on the annual reports of
the A-G on the accounts of the
government
NASS (Senate)
Reports on Routine Status Enquiry
carried out by the Committee on
the expenditure of the MDAs to
obtain VFM
NASS (Senate)
Referral Report on referral to the
Committee from Plenary
NASS (Senate)
Session Report submitted at the
end of each legislative year
NASS (Senate)

8. Qualities of Good Reports/
Recommendations
SMART Qualities
 Specific
 Measurable
 Achievable
 Results-orientated
 Time-bound
• Precision
• Accuracy of facts
• Grammatical accuracy
• Simple language
• Clarity
• Consciousness
• Reader-friendly
• Attractiveness etc

9. Who is the audience of a PAC
report?

10. Who is the audience of a PAC
report?