Introduction by the Controller and Auditor-General

My key objective for 2005-06 is for the Office to make real progress in developing our people and our assurance products and services.

Since receiving Parliament’s support last year to strengthen the capability of my Office, we have put in place many of the building blocks to ensure the sustainability of the Office and its ability to proactively respond to the assurance issues facing public entities.

This has included:

• implementation of a “project office” approach to how we manage the work and resources of the Office;
• review of our leadership model for how we want to govern and manage the Office;
• development of a comprehensive monitoring and reporting regime;
• completion of a pilot implementation of enhancements to our Strategic Audit Planning process which resulted in greater involvement of, and communication with, audit service providers, and a better deployment of the full range of our assurance interventions around the key issues and risks;
• appointment of additional performance auditors to strengthen the base capability of this group and to better enable their professional development, including methodology development;
• significant inroads into our programme of research and development in the areas of our audit response to Long-Term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and the Public Finance Amendment Act 2004 (PFAA) and Crown Entities Act 2004 (CEA);
• review and design of stakeholder feedback mechanisms;
• review of our sector arrangements within the Office to ensure we maximise our sector efforts and provide “one voice” for the Office;
• use of a common framework for business planning within the Office, which has resulted in greater alignment between our business units;
• development of a communications framework;
• development of an Information Systems Technology Plan;
• introduction of an agreed evaluation framework for performance audits to measure the impact of our work in this area; and
• significant progress in the alignment of our corporate policies in the OAG and Audit New Zealand.

I am pleased with the progress we have made in starting to bring into effect our 5-year Strategic Plan for the Office. This Annual Plan reflects the next stage in that change process. The emphasis now shifts from building the infrastructure that supports the Office of the future to one of “development”. Specifically, investing significantly in developing the people who work for and with the Office, and developing our assurance products and services.

This stage involves:

• strengthening our organisational capability, especially in leadership and professional areas;
• adjusting to our increased capability, particularly in terms of how we manage our people and how we access additional resources more flexibly;
• further improving our timeliness for inquiries;
• delivering an effective product mix with an increased focus on non-financial reporting and on waste, probity, governance and accountability;
• continuing to look for efficiencies in our operational and corporate processes; and
• making real gains in terms of creating a mindset for innovation and collaborative working.

In this Annual Plan, we outline our specific management actions for 2005-06 to give effect to these objectives. In addition, we include the information on future operating intentions required under section 38 of the Public Finance Act 1989.

I am committed to real change and improvement in the public sector and to the enhancement of the trustworthiness of the public sector. The 5-year Strategic Plan sets out how I intend to position my Office to lead these goals. This Annual Plan reflects an important second stage in the implementation of our Strategic Plan.

Kevin Brady
Controller and Auditor-General
6 May 2005