Annual audit highlights

A list of reports and letters to boards and chief executives highlighting the results of our annual audits in local government, central government, and for particular sectors or types of public organisations.
Observations from our 2016/17 central government audits

May 2018: Letter sent on 16 May 2018 to chief executives of government departments and Crown entities by Greg Schollum, Deputy Controller and Auditor-General sharing some observations on common issues and noteworthy practice from our 2016/17 annual audits.

Local government: Results of the 2016/17 audits

March 2018: This report presents the results of our annual audits and other work in local government during 2016/17. Some of our findings are recurring, which is of concern. Elected members are ultimately responsible for what a local authority does, how it does it, and the consequences. We acknowledge the multiple demands on local authorities to balance service delivery and costs, and we hope that the findings in this report make a useful contribution to addressing matters that need to be considered.

Results of the 2016 school audits

December 2017: This detailed information sets out the results of the school audits for 2016. We have provided this information to the Secretary for Education.

Central government: Results of the 2016/17 audits

December 2017: 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 2017 (the Government's financial statements) and of carrying out the Controller function.

Results of the 2016 audits of tertiary education institutions

November 2017: We summarise the results of the tertiary education institution audits for the year ended 31 December 2016. We provide a brief introduction to our audit work and an update on timeliness and completion of the 2016 audits. We also report on the types of audit opinions we issued, and note the main matters we identified from our audits.

Results of the 2015 school audits

December 2016: We reported on the results of the 2015 school audits to the Ministry of Education on 21 October 2016. This information, on the completion of the 2015 school audits and the types of opinions we issued, was included in our report to the Ministry of Education.

Health sector: Results of the 2014/15 audits

August 2016: In general, district health boards are doing reasonably well at marshalling their resources for current operational needs. However, our analysis of their financial statements for successive years suggests that their planning for the future and ability to deal with uncertainty or changing circumstances is limited.

Energy sector: Results of the 2014/15 audits

June 2016: Most companies in the energy sector, such as electricity distribution businesses, are monopolies and are subject to regulation. We are often told that the regulations are complex and require significant effort to ensure staff understand the detail of the regulations. It is also important that auditors have a good understanding of the regulations. Some electricity distribution businesses have made, or are planning to make, investments seeking revenue from sources beyond their core business, for example investment in telecommunications fibre networks and commercial property. The governors of these businesses need to be cautious and undertake appropriate due diligence so they fully understand the risks of their potential investments.

Local government: Results of the 2014/15 audits

April 2016: Communities continue to expect that their council will manage spending well and keep rate increases to a minimum. But the demand for services, and the need for investment in infrastructure, is generally not reducing. Councils must think about the long term and consider how to adapt.

Central government: Results of the 2013/14 audits

December 2014: This report sets out the results of our audit of the Financial Statements of the Government for the year ended 30 June 2014 and of carrying out the Controller function. It highlights a number of matters arising from that work, including costs of the Canterbury rebuild, the effect of Solid Energy’s financial performance, the accounting treatment for certain major public sector assets, and improving financial management in central government...

State-owned enterprises: Results of the 2012/13 audits

July 2014: State-owned enterprises are an important and financially significant part of the public sector. This report provides an analysis of what our audit work and audited financial statements can tell us about the financial health of SOEs and the listed companies that are majority-owned by the Crown...

Health sector: Results of the 2012/13 audits

May 2014: This report describes the results of our 2012/13 audits of entities in the health sector and our recent performance audit work to assess the effectiveness of particular aspects of the public health system...

Schools: Results of the 2012 audits

May 2014: Up to 28 February 2014, we completed nearly 2450 audits of schools’ financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2012. This report presents the results from our audits of those statements. This report also includes an overview of the financial health of schools as a whole, and articles on state-integrated schools, Kura Kaupapa Māori, and changes to schools’ financial reporting requirements...

Public entities in the social sector: Our audit work

December 2013: This is the first time we have published a report focused on public entities in the social sector. We draw attention to the work this Office does, outline why we are interested in changes in the social sector, and share our thoughts on where we might focus our effort in the future...