In this presentation, I summarise the April 2016 performance audit report by the NZ Office of the Auditor General on Governance and accountability, in 5 slides.

1. NZ Auditor General’s performance audit
report on Governance and
accountability …
NZ has dropped from second to fourth on the Corruption
Perceptions Index, so the AG thought it a good time to ask
what could be done better.
This reports summarises observations regarding
governance and accountability across all the audits
undertaken in 2014-2015.
JUNE 2016

2. The Auditor General provides neat definitions
• governance is the system by which an
organisation or project is directed and controlled
• accountability is the way in which people
can see how their taxes and rates are used by
public entities
WHAT DOES IT SAY.
JUNE 2016

3. Two areas for improvement are role clarity and risk
management. Both are critical to good governance.
Inland Revenue (the tax office) got big ups for setting
a clear direction for its business transformation
program.
No examples of better practice risk management were
found. Awkward.
WHAT ELSE DOES IT SAY.
JUNE 2016

4. The auditors found new and different governance set-ups in
the environment sector .
So some principles for co-governance are proposed, including:
• maintain a shared understanding of what everyone is trying
to achieve
• involve people who have the right experience and capacity
• be accountable and transparent about performance,
achievements, and challenges
WHAT ELSE DOES IT SAY.
JUNE 2016

5. • There is so much in this report to help
agencies get better at governance and
accountability.
• Governing bodies need to drive
improvements in direction-setting.
• Auditors are a critical to driving
improvements in risk management
The comments on these slides are the views of Tim Kirby, Sydney.
You should always read the report itself before putting your reputation or any money on the line.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN.
Tim Kirby, Sydney CA, CIA, LA-EMS
au.linkedin.com/in/timkirbysydney
JUNE 2016