Publications produced during 2019

December 2019: Concerns were raised with us about certain procurement practices carried out by Alpine Energy, including a decision to install solar energy equipment on an employee’s house as part of a solar energy trial. We were interested in this decision because it raised questions about sensitive expenditure. Sensitive expenditure is a particular risk in the public sector – if it is not recognised and properly managed, public trust and confidence can quickly be eroded, regardless of the amount of money spent.

December 2019: This report sets out the results of our audit of the Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the year ended 30 June 2019 (the Government's financial statements) and of carrying out the Controller function.

November 2019: This report sets out our observations from our audits of the 27 public tertiary education institutions, made up of eight universities, 16 institutes of technology and polytechnics, and three wānanga.

December 2019: Since 2012, New Zealand Government Procurement, a business unit in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, has been responsible for leading improvements in government procurement. In this report, we have identified some important areas for New Zealand Government Procurement to focus on to further improve public sector performance and to be seen as the centre of excellence for procurement in the public sector.

28 November 2019: Most government spending for the second six months of 2018/19 was properly authorised and within the law. However, we have confirmed several instances that were not properly authorised.

November 2019: This detailed information sets out the results of the school audits for 2018. We have provided this information, and a list of recommendations, to the Secretary for Education.

19 November 2019: In May 2019, Hon Judith Collins raised some concerns about KiwiBuild with our Office. We decided to look into those concerns as part of the 2018/19 annual audit of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. We have now completed that work and written back to Ms Collins with our findings.

4 November 2019: The Finance and Expenditure Committee is seeking submissions on the Public Finance (Wellbeing) Amendment Bill. This Bill proposes new requirements, for the Government to report annually on its wellbeing objectives in the Budget, and for the Treasury to report periodically on the state of wellbeing in New Zealand. We provided a submission in late October.

October 2019: Our work is focused on improving the trust in, and the value of, our public sector. This report looks at how we contributed to this in 2018/19, and how we are positioning ourselves for the future.

September 2019: This booklet is for the elected members of councils and for new members in particular. It gives an overview of the Auditor-General's role and also outlines the kinds of interaction they can expect with the Auditor-General and with his staff.