Appendix 3: Our 2023/24 work programme and work published
For each item listed in Appendix 3 of our Annual Plan 2023/24, we provide the published title (in italics) and publication date or provide an update.
* Denotes projects in progress that were due to be completed in 2023/24.
Strengthening our core assurance role
| Items | Published title or current state |
|---|---|
| Audit readiness for public sector reforms, including new audit methodologies | In progress: We have finalised a methodology for auditing the New Zealand Health Plan. Preparing for new audits, including Te Wānanga o Raukawa and greenhouse gas emissions for public sector climate reporting entities |
| Supporting the Ministry of Education's review of school accountability | Not started: The Ministry of Education has not started the project |
| Readiness for climate reporting by public organisations | Accounting for climate change (May 2024) Carbon targets and ambiguity: The scrutiny to expect from an auditor (June 2024) The first audits of climate reporting entity greenhouse gas emissions will be carried out during the second half of 2025 |
| Audit contract management system upgrade | Complete: We implemented a new audit management system and auditor portal (April 2024) |
| Audit fee reviews of key sectors | Ongoing: Local government fees for annual audits and the long-term plan audits were reviewed during the past year. School audit fees are to be set in the first half of 2024/25, and central government fees are due to be set in the second half of 2024/25 |
| Focus on practice management and implementing the new audit tool | In progress: The practice management review has been completed and recommendations are being implemented through the Audit New Zealand Practice Improvement programme. The new audit tool has been implemented, with its use on audits being phased in for 2024 and 2025 audits* |
| Ethics in auditing | Guide to support the application of the Auditor-General's Code of Ethics (June 2024) |
| Monitoring the use of appropriations | The increasing use of multi-year appropriations (May 2024) |
Increasing our impact with public organisations
| Items | Published title or current state |
|---|---|
| Advice and support to Parliament and select committees | Ongoing |
| Preparing for, and performing, the next round of long-term plan audits | Ongoing: Originally planned to be completed in 2023/24. However, councils were given the option to defer adoption of their long-term plans by 12 months. Those councils' audits will be completed by July 2025* |
| Auckland Council review of service performance | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25 |
| Public sector accountability to communities – research | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
| Commentary on the Wellbeing Report | Commentary on Te Tai Waiora: Wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand (August 2023) |
| Effectiveness of mental health and alcohol/other drug services for young people | Meeting the mental health needs of young New Zealanders (February 2024) |
| Understanding and addressing educational disparities | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
| Immigration New Zealand visa processing – accountability and effectiveness of the visa process | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
| Progress of the Government's efforts to reduce child poverty | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
| Leadership of the housing and urban development system | Leading New Zealand's approach to housing and urban development (August 2023) |
| Planning of significant housing and urban development projects | Discontinued due to other work priorities |
| Cyber security maturity and preparedness | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25 |
| Systems and processes underpinning government decisions on major infrastructure investment | Making infrastructure investment decisions quickly (December 2023) |
| Performance audit topic from public survey: Infrastructure resilience | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25 |
| Presenting a picture of sector-level performance reporting (transport pilot) | Transport sector: A case study of sector-level performance (October 2023) |
| Assessing the quality of performance reporting | Do your measures measure up? (November 2023) |
| Good practice guidance on performance reporting – local government | Local government planning and reporting on performance (January 2024) |
| Improving the quality of performance reporting | A guide to our resources to support better performance reporting (May 2024) |
| Monitoring performance information in sectors undergoing major change | Data published on our website (September 2024) |
| Climate change and local government | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
Enhancing our impact in te ao Māori
| Items | Published title or current state |
|---|---|
| How well prepared are public organisations to meet Treaty settlement commitments | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
Building on our reputation as a source of trusted information
| Items | Published title or current state |
|---|---|
| Observations from our central government audits (including the Controller function): 2022/23 | Observations from our central government work in 2022/23 (December 2023) |
| Results of the 2022 school audits | Results of the 2022 school audits (December 2023) |
| Results of the 2022 audits of tertiary education institutions and understanding disparities in tertiary education | Tertiary education institutions: 2022 audit results and what we saw in 2023 (June 2024) |
| 2022/23 health update | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
| Insights into local government 2022 audits | Results of the 2021/22 council audits (December 2023) |
| Insights into local government 2023 audits | Insights into local government: 2023 (August 2024) |
| Licensing trusts: Results of the 2022/23 audits | In progress: To be completed in 2024/25* |
| Auckland landscape scan | Reporting on the public sector's performance in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (October 2023) |
| Controller update | Controller update: September 2023 (September 2023) Controller update: April 2024 (April 2024) |
| Procurement reflections – wrap-up of procurement work | Strengthening government procurement: Lessons from our recent work (May 2024) |
| Support for audit and risk committees | Ongoing |
| Two pilot rapid audits (topics to be confirmed) #1 | Monitoring importers of specified high-risk foods(February 2024) |
| Two pilot rapid audits (topics to be confirmed) #2 | In progress: Our work on inspecting vehicles for safety is to be completed in 2024/25* |
| Public sector events | Ongoing |
| Assurance over aspects of the 2023 General Election | General Election 2023: Independent review of counting errors (May 2024) |
| Support for strong accountability arrangements | Submission on the Water Services Entities Amendment Bill (July 2023) Submission on the Fast-track Approvals Bill (April 2024) |
Following up on performance audits
| Items | Published title or current state |
|---|---|
| Follow-ups to our performance audits | Responses to our recommendations about Governance of the City Rail Link project (December 2023) Regional councils' relationships with iwi and hapū for freshwater management – a follow-up report (May 2024) Strategic suppliers: Understanding and managing the risks of service disruption – follow-up (June 2024) Responses to our recommendations about the co-ordination of the all-of-government response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 (June 2024) Responses to our recommendations about improving Crown entity monitoring (June 2024) The Government's preparedness to implement the sustainable development goals – follow-up (June 2024) |
Corporate publications
| Items | Published title or current state |
|---|---|
| Corporate documents | Annual report 2022/23 (October 2023) Draft annual plan 2024/25 (April 2024) Annual plan 2024/25 (June 2024) |