Refine search Expand filter

Reports

Published

Actions for Local Government 2023

Local Government 2023

Local Government
Asset valuation
Cyber security
Financial reporting
Fraud
Information technology
Internal controls and governance

What this report is about

Results of the local government sector financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2023.

Findings

Unqualified audit opinions were issued for 85 councils, eight county councils and 12 joint organisations.

Qualified audit opinions were issued for 36 councils due to non-recognition of rural firefighting equipment vested under section 119(2) of the Rural Fires Act 1997.

The audits of seven councils, one county council and one joint organisation remain in progress at the date of this report due to significant accounting issues.

Fifty councils, county councils and joint organisations missed the statutory deadline of submitting their financial statements to the Office of Local Government, within the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, by 31 October.

Audit management letters included 1,131 findings with 40% being repeat findings and 91 findings being high-risk. Governance, asset management and information technology continue to represent 65% of the key areas for improvement.

Fifty councils do not have basic governance and internal controls to manage cyber security.

Recommendations

To improve quality and timeliness of financial reporting, councils should:

  • adopt early financial reporting procedures, including asset valuations
  • ensure integrity and completeness of asset source records
  • perform procedures to confirm completeness, accuracy and condition of vested rural firefighting equipment.

To improve internal controls, councils should:

  • track progress of implementing audit recommendations, and prioritise high-risk repeat issues
  • continue to focus on cyber security governance and controls.

 

Read the PDF report

Published

Actions for Health 2023

Health 2023

Health
Whole of Government
Asset valuation
Compliance
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Project management
Regulation
Risk
Shared services and collaboration
Workforce and capability

What this report is about

Results of the Health portfolio of agencies' financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2023.

The audit found

Unmodified audit opinions were issued for all Health portfolio agencies' financial statements. 

The number of monetary misstatements increased in 2022–23, driven by key accounting issues, including the first-time recognition of paid parental leave and plant and equipment fair value adjustments. 

The key audit issues were 

NSW Health identified errors regarding the recognition and calculation of long service leave entitlements for employees with ten or more years of service that had periods of part time service in the first ten years, resulting in prior period restatements. 

Comprehensive revaluation of buildings at the Graythwaite Charitable Trust found errors in the previous year's valuation, resulting in prior period restatements. 

New parental leave legislation increased employee liabilities for portfolio agencies. The Ministry of Health corrected the consolidated financial statements to record parental leave liabilities for all agencies within the Health portfolio.   

A repeat high-risk issue relates to processing time records by administrators that have not been reviewed prior to running the pay cycle.   

Thirty per cent of reported issues were repeat issues. 

The audit recommended 

Portfolio agencies should ensure any changes to employee entitlements are assessed for their potential financial statements impact under the relevant Australian Accounting Standards. 

Portfolio agencies should address deficiencies that resulted in qualified reports on:   

  • the design and operation of shared service controls
  • prudential non-compliance at residential aged care facilities.

 

This report provides Parliament and other users of the Health portfolio of agencies’ financial statements with the results of our audits, analysis, conclusions and recommendations in the following areas:

  • financial reporting
  • audit observations.

Financial reporting is an important element of good governance. Confidence and transparency in public sector decision-making are enhanced when financial reporting is accurate and timely.

This chapter outlines our audit observations related to the financial reporting of agencies in the Health portfolio of agencies (the portfolio) for 2023.

Section highlights

  • Unqualified audit opinions were issued for all portfolio agencies required to prepare general purpose financial statements.
  • The total number of errors (including corrected and uncorrected) in the financial statements increased compared to the prior year.
  • The Ministry of Health retrospectively corrected an $18.9 million adjustment in its financial statements relating to long service leave entitlements for certain employees.
  • Graythwaite Charitable Trust retrospectively corrected a $4.2 million adjustment in its financial statements related to prior period valuations. 

Appropriate financial controls help ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and administration of agency policies. They are essential for quality and timely decision-making.

This chapter outlines observations and insights from our financial statement audits of agencies in the Health portfolio.  

 Section highlights 

  • The 2022–23 audits identified one high-risk and 57 moderate risk issues across the portfolio.
  • The high-risk matter related to the forced-finalisation of time records.
  • The total number of findings increased from 67 to 111 in 2022–23.
  • Thirty per cent of the issues were repeat issues. Most repeat issues related to internal control deficiencies or non-compliance with key legislation and/or central agency policies.
  • Forced-finalisation of time records, accounting for the new paid parental leave provision and user access review deficiencies were the most commonly reported issues.
  • Qualified Assurance Practitioner's reports were issued on:
    • the design and operation of controls as documented by HealthShare NSW
    • the Ministry's Annual Prudential Compliance Statements in relation to residential aged care facilities.

Appendix one – Misstatements in financial statements submitted for audit

Appendix two – Early close procedures

Appendix three – Timeliness of financial reporting

Appendix four – Financial data

 

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.

 

 

Published

Actions for Transport 2023

Transport 2023

Transport
Whole of Government
Asset valuation
Compliance
Financial reporting
Information technology
Infrastructure
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Procurement
Risk

What this report is about

Result of the Transport portfolio of agencies' financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2023.

The audit found

Unqualified audit opinions were issued for all Transport portfolio agencies.

An 'emphasis of matter' paragraph was included in the Transport Asset Holding Entity of New South Wales' (TAHE) independent auditor's report, which draws attention to management's disclosure regarding proposed changes to TAHE's operating model.

Government's decision to convert TAHE into a non-commercial Public Non-Financial Corporation may impact the future valuation and the control of TAHE's assets.

Transport for NSW's valuation of roads and bridges resulted in a net increase to its asset value by $15.7 billion.

Transport for NSW and Sydney Metro have capitalised over $300 million of tender bid costs paid to unsuccessful tender bidders relating to significant infrastructure projects. Whilst NSW Treasury policy provides clarity on the reimbursement of unsuccessful bidders' costs, clearer guidance on how to account for these costs in agency's financial statements is required.

The key audit issues were

The number of issues reported to management decreased from 53 in 2021–22 to 49 in 2022–23.

High-risk findings include:

  • gaps in how Sydney Metro manages its contractors and how conflicts of interest are recorded and managed
  • future financial reporting implications to account for government's proposed changes to TAHE's future operating model, including asset valuations and control assessments of assets and operations
  • Parramatta Park Trust's tree assets' valuation methodology needs to be addressed.

Recommendations were made to address the identified deficiencies.

This report provides Parliament and other users of the Transport portfolio of agencies’ financial statements with the results of our audits, analysis, conclusions and recommendations in the following areas:

  • financial reporting
  • audit observations.

Financial reporting is an important element of good governance. Confidence and transparency in public sector decision making are enhanced when financial reporting is accurate and timely.

This chapter outlines our audit observations related to the financial reporting of agencies in the Transport portfolio of agencies (the portfolio) for 2023.

Section highlights

  • Unqualified audit opinions were issued on all the portfolio agencies’ 30 June 2023 financial statements.
  • An 'Emphasis of Matter' paragraph was included in the Transport Asset Holding Entity of New South Wales’ (TAHE) Independent Auditor's Report to draw attention to management's disclosure regarding the proposed changes to TAHE's future operating model.
  • The total number of errors (including corrected and uncorrected) in the financial statements increased by 59% compared to the prior year.
  • The recent government's decision to convert TAHE into a non-commercial Public Non-Financial Corporation may impact the future valuation and the control of TAHE’s assets.
  • Transport for NSW needs to further improve its quality assurance processes over comprehensive valuations, in particular, ensuring key inputs used in the valuations are properly supported and verified.
  • Transport for NSW and Sydney Metro capitalised over $300 million of bid costs paid to unsuccessful bidders. NSW Treasury’s Bid Cost Contributions Policy does not contemplate how these costs should be recognised in agency’s financial statements. Transport agencies should work with NSW Treasury to develop an accounting policy for the bid cost contributions to ensure consistent application across the sector.

Appropriate financial controls help ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and administration of agency policies. They are essential for quality and timely decision-making.
This chapter outlines our observations and insights from our financial statement audits of agencies in the Transport portfolio.

Section highlights

  • The 2022–23 audits identified four high risks and 28 moderate risk issues across the portfolio. Thirty-nine per cent of issues were repeat findings.
  • Four high risk findings include:
    • TAHE’s asset valuations (new)
    • TAHE’s control of assets and operations (new)
    • Sydney Metro’s management of contractors and conflicts of interest (new)
    • Parramatta Park Trust’s valuation of trees (repeat).
  • The total number of findings decreased from 53 in 2021–22 to 49 in 2022–23. Many repeat findings related to control weaknesses over the asset valuation, payroll processes, conflicts of interest and information technology user access administration.


Appendix one – Misstatements in financial statements submitted for audit 

Appendix two – Early close procedures

Appendix three – Timeliness of financial reporting 

Appendix four – Financial data 

 

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.

Published

Actions for Enterprise, Investment and Trade 2023

Enterprise, Investment and Trade 2023

Finance
Asset valuation
Compliance
Cyber security
Financial reporting
Information technology
Infrastructure
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Procurement
Project management
Regulation
Risk

What this report is about

Results of the Enterprise, Investment and Trade portfolio of financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2023.

What we found

Unqualified audit opinions were issued for all completed Enterprise, Investment and Trade portfolio agencies.

An 'other matter' paragraph was included in the Jobs for NSW Fund's 30 June 2022 independent auditor's report to reflect the non-compliance with the Jobs for NSW Act 2015 (the Act). The Act requires the board to consist of seven members that include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Premier's Department, and five ministerial appointments. The board has consisted of two secretaries since 24 May 2019 when the independent members resigned. The remaining five members have not been appointed by the ministers as required by section 5(2) of the Act.

Financial statements were not prepared for the Responsible Gambling Fund, a special deposit account. Financial statements should be prepared unless NSW Treasury releases a Treasurer's Direction under section 7.8 of the GSF Act that will exempt the SDA from financial reporting requirements.

What the key issues were

The number of issues reported to management decreased from 65 in 2021–22 to 44 in 2022–23. Forty-six per cent of issues were repeated from the prior year.

Two high-risk issues were identified across the portfolio. One was a repeat issue where the Jobs for NSW Fund did not comply with legislation. The other high-risk issue was first identified in 2022–23 when the Department for Enterprise, Investment and Trade incorrectly recorded grants that did not meet the requirements of Australian Accounting Standards.

What we recommended

The Department should develop a robust model to ensure it only provides for grants that meet the eligibility criteria.

This report provides Parliament and other users of the Enterprise, Investment and Trade portfolio of agencies’ financial statements with the results of our audits, analysis, conclusions and recommendations in the following areas:

  • financial reporting
  • audit observations.

Financial reporting is an important element of good governance. Confidence and transparency in public sector decision-making are enhanced when financial reporting is accurate and timely.

This chapter outlines our audit observations related to the financial reporting of agencies in the Enterprise, Investment and Trade portfolio of agencies (the portfolio) for 2023.

Section highlights

  • Unqualified audit opinions were issued on all completed portfolio agencies’ 2022–23 financial statements.
  • An ‘other matter’ paragraph was included for the Jobs for NSW Fund’s 30 June 2022 financial report to reflect non-compliance with the Jobs for NSW Act 2015.
  • The Act requires the board to consist of seven members that include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet (or their nominees) and five ministerial appointments, one of whom is to be appointed as Chair of the board. The board has consisted of the two secretaries since 24 May 2019 when the independent members resigned. The remaining five members have not been appointed by the ministers as required by section 5(2) of the Act.
  • An ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph was included in the Jobs for NSW Fund’s 30 June 2022 financial report to draw attention to the financial report being prepared for the purpose of fulfilling the Jobs for NSW Fund’s financial reporting responsibilities as requested by the Treasurer’s delegate.
  • The total number of errors (including corrected and uncorrected) in the financial statements increased by 12% compared to the prior year.
  • The Responsible Gambling Fund (Special Deposit Account) did not prepare financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2023. Financial statements should be prepared unless NSW Treasury releases a Treasurer’s Direction under section 7.8 of the GSF Act that will exempt the Fund from financial reporting requirements. 

Appropriate financial controls help ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and administration of agency policies. They are essential for quality and timely decision-making.

This chapter outlines our observations and insights from our financial statement audits of agencies in the Enterprise, Investment and Trade portfolio.

Section highlights

  • The audits identified two high-risk and 20 moderate risk issues across the portfolio. Of these, one was a high-risk repeat issue and ten were moderate-risk repeat issues.
  • One of the high-risk matters related to the Jobs for NSW Fund audit for the year ended 30 June 2022.
  • The other high-risk matter related to overstating grants relating to the Jobs Plus Program as the criteria to pay the grant was not met at 30 June 2023.
  • The total number of findings decreased from 65 to 44 with 2022–23 findings mainly related to deficiencies in accounting for property, plant and equipment and agencies having outdated policies. 

Appendix one – Misstatements in financial statements submitted for audit

Appendix two – Early close procedures

Appendix three – Timeliness of financial reporting

Appendix four – Financial data

 

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.

Published

Actions for Education 2023

Education 2023

Education
Whole of Government
Asset valuation
Compliance
Cyber security
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Procurement
Project management
Risk

What this report is about

Results of the Education portfolio of agencies’ financial statements audits for the year ended 30 June 2023.

What we found

Unqualified audit opinions were issued for all Education portfolio agencies.

An ‘other matter’ paragraph was included in the TAFE Commission’s independent auditor’s report as it did not have a delegation or sub-delegation from the Minister for Education and Early Learning to incur expenditure on grants from other portfolio agencies.

What the key issues were

Comprehensive valuations of buildings at the Department of Education (the department) and at the TAFE Commission found that certain assumptions applied in previous years needed to be updated, resulting in prior period restatements.

The department prepaid a building contractor for early works on a project and some of the prepayment is in legal dispute.

The department duplicated a claim for project funding from Restart NSW in 2021.

New parental leave legislation increased employee liabilities for portfolio agencies. The department and the NSW Education Standards Authority (the Authority) updated their financial statements to record parental leave liabilities.

A high risk matter was raised for the Authority to improve the quality and timeliness of information to support their financial statement close process.

What we recommended

Portfolio agencies should ensure any changes to employee entitlements are assessed for their potential financial statements impact under the relevant Australian Accounting Standards.

The department should:

  • improve processes to ensure project claims are not duplicated
  • assess the risks associated with providing prepayments to contractors.

This report provides Parliament and other users of the Education portfolio of agencies’ financial statements with the results of our audits, analysis, conclusions and recommendations in the following areas:

  • financial reporting
  • audit observations.

Financial reporting is an important element of good governance. Confidence and transparency in public sector decision-making are enhanced when financial reporting is accurate and timely.

This chapter outlines our audit observations related to the financial reporting of agencies in the Education portfolio (the portfolio) for 2023.

Section highlights

  • Unqualified audit opinions were issued on all the portfolio agencies 2022–23 financial statements.
  • An ‘other matter’ paragraph was included in the independent auditor’s report for the Technical and Further Education Commission (the TAFE Commission) as it did not have a delegation or sub-delegation from the Minister for Education and Early Learning to incur expenditure on grants from other portfolio agencies.
  • Comprehensive valuations of buildings in the current year identified that certain assumptions applied in previous years were incorrect. The effects of these corrections are disclosed as prior period errors in the financial statements of the Department of Education (the department) and the TAFE Commission.
  • The department made corrections to its financial statements to reflect increases to NSW teachers’ wages announced post balance date. This impacted amounts recorded as liabilities for a range of employee benefits and entitlements totalling $225.4 million, of which $147.9 million is accepted by the Crown and $77.5 million is borne by the department.
  • A change to the NSW paid parental leave scheme, effective October 2022, created a new legal obligation that needed to be recognised by impacted government agencies. Of the three affected portfolio agencies, only the department and the NSW Education Standards Authority recognised a liability to account for this change. The aggregated unrecorded liabilities of other agencies in the portfolio totalled $2.4 million. The errors within the individual agencies’ financial statements were not material.
  • The total number of errors (including corrected and uncorrected) in the financial statements increased compared to the prior year.
  • The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund should prepare financial statements unless NSW Treasury releases a Treasurer’s Direction under section 7.8 of the GSF Act that will exempt the SDA from financial reporting requirements. 

Appropriate financial controls help ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and administration of agency policies. They are essential for quality and timely decision-making.

This chapter outlines our observations and insights from our financial statement audits of agencies in the Education portfolio.

Section highlights

  • The 2022–23 audits identified one high risk and 20 moderate risk issues across the portfolio. Of these, one was a high risk repeat issue and four were moderate risk repeat issues.
  • The total number of findings increased from 29 to 36, which mainly related to deficiencies in financial reporting, information technology, payroll and purchasing controls.
  • The high risk matter relates to the lack of quality and timely information to support the financial statement close process at the NSW Education Standards Authority. 

Appendix one – Early close procedures

Appendix two – Financial data

 

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.

Published

Actions for Customer Service 2023

Customer Service 2023

Finance
Asset valuation
Compliance
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Regulation
Risk
Service delivery
Shared services and collaboration

What this report is about

Result of the Customer Service portfolio agencies' financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2023.

What we found

Unmodified audit opinions were issued for all completed 30 June 2023 financial statements audits of Customer Service portfolio agencies. Two audits are ongoing.

What the key issues were

The total number of misstatements in the financial statements and findings reported to management decreased compared to the prior year.

For the first time since its establishment in 2015, GovConnect NSW received unqualified audit opinions for business process internal controls and information technology general controls managed by service providers.

The department controls Finance Co Trust (Fin Co), a special purpose trust created as part of its project to replace flammable cladding for eligible residential apartment buildings. Fin Co did not prepare financial statements which is a breach of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 (GSF Act).

The department's land titling database was overstated by $42.5 million due to errors in the valuation model.

The New South Wales Government Telecommunications Authority corrected a prior period error of $10.2 million overstatement of property, plant and equipment.

A high-risk finding was reported to Service NSW regarding gaps in policies, systems and processes for administering and financial reporting on grant programs.

Recommendations were made to address these deficiencies.

This report provides Parliament and other users of the Customer Service portfolio of agencies’ financial statements with the results of our audits, analysis, conclusions and recommendations in the following areas:

  • financial reporting
  • audit observations.

Financial reporting is an important element of good governance. Confidence and transparency in public sector decision-making are enhanced when financial reporting is accurate and timely.

This chapter outlines our audit observations related to the financial reporting of agencies in the Customer Service portfolio of agencies (the portfolio) for 2023.

Section highlights

  • Unqualified audit opinions were issued on all completed 30 June 2023 financial statements audits of the portfolio agencies. Two audits are ongoing.
  • The total number of errors (including corrected and uncorrected) in the financial statements decreased compared to the prior year.
  • Financial statements were not prepared for Finance Co Trust (Fin Co), a special purpose trust created by the department as part of its project to replace flammable cladding for eligible residential apartment buildings. This is a breach of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 (GSF Act).
  • The department overstated the value of its land titling database, a service concession asset by $42.5 million. This was due to errors in the valuation data and calculation errors in the valuation model.
  • Service NSW’s late resolution of the accounting assessment of grant programs funding resulted in delays to financial reporting and audit.
  • The New South Wales Government Telecommunications Authority (the authority) corrected a prior period error retrospectively to write off assets that could not be physically verified. 

Appropriate financial controls help ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and administration of agency policies. They are essential for quality and timely decision-making.

This chapter outlines our observations and insights from our financial statement audits of agencies in the Customer Service portfolio.

Section highlights

  • The 2022–23 audits identified one high risk and 26 moderate risk issues across the portfolio.
  • The high-risk matter was related to Service NSW’s revenue assessment of its grant programs.
  • The total number of findings decreased from 64 to 41, which mainly related to deficiencies in financial reporting, information technology, payroll and purchasing controls.
  • Fifty-one per cent of the issues were repeat issues. Many repeat issues related to weakness in information technology (IT) controls around access to systems and data and disaster recovery testing.
  • For the first time since its establishment in 2015, GovConnect NSW received unqualified audit opinions for business processes internal controls and information technology general controls managed by service providers. 

Appendix one – Misstatements in financial statements submitted for audit 

Appendix two – Early close procedures

Appendix three – Timeliness of financial reporting

Appendix four – Financial data

 

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.

Published

Actions for Financial Management and Governance in MidCoast Council

Financial Management and Governance in MidCoast Council

Local Government
Financial reporting
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Risk

Introduction

The Auditor-General's financial and performance audits of local councils aim to improve financial management, governance and public accountability across the local government sector.

Annual Local Government reports to Parliament have consistently highlighted risks and weaknesses across the sector in relation to financial management and governance. We will continue to focus on these matters as a priority area in our forward work program.

While this report focuses on MidCoast Council, the findings should be considered by all councils to better understand the challenges and opportunities when addressing financial sustainability and financial management needs.

Findings and recommendations around the effectiveness of long-term financial planning, comprehensive and timely financial reporting and financial management governance arrangements are relevant for all councils.

What this report is about

The Local Government Act 1993 requires councils to apply sound financial management principles, including sustainable expenditure, effective financial management and regard to intergenerational equity.

This audit assessed whether MidCoast Council has effective financial management arrangements that support councillors and management to fulfill their responsibilities as financial stewards.

What we found

MidCoast Council has not met all legislative and policy requirements for long-term financial planning.

From FY2019–20 to FY2020–21, the Council had financial management and governance gaps. Some gaps were addressed throughout FY2021–22.

MidCoast Council experienced significant challenges in its implementation of a consolidated financial management system following amalgamation in 2016 and the merging of MidCoast Water in 2017. This led to gaps in finance processes and data quality.

What we recommended

The report recommends that MidCoast Council should:

  • ensure its long-term financial plan meets legislative and policy requirements
  • undertake service reviews to better understand net costs to inform budget and financial planning decisions
  • improve the quality of asset management information to inform budget and financial planning decisions
  • use the financial management components of the MC1 system to its full potential
  • address control and process gaps identified in audits and reviews
  • ensure competency of those responsible for finance and budget
  • ensure financial sustainability initiatives account for the cost of services and asset management information.

Effective financial management is important in ensuring that councils achieve their long-term objectives, remain financially viable and deliver intended benefits to the community.

Sustainable financial management has been a priority for the local government sector since 2013 and continues to be one of the highest rated risks and priorities among councils in 2023.

According to data provided by the Department of Planning and Environment, during FY2020–21, NSW local councils:

  • collected $7.8 billion in rates and annual charges
  • received $5.8 billion in grants and contributions
  • incurred $4.8 billion of employee benefits and on costs
  • held $16.8 billion of cash and investments
  • managed $175.2 billion in infrastructure, property plant and equipment
  • entered into $3.7 billion of borrowings.

The Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) requires local councils to apply sound financial management principles including responsible and sustainable expenditure, investment, and effective financial and asset management. Under the LG Act and the Local Government Regulation 2021 (LG Regulation) councils are required to:

  • establish and monitor their budget position
  • clearly establish approaches to raise revenue, including from rates and other sources
  • develop and implement integrated planning to ensure financial sustainability in line with community priorities and needs
  • regularly report on their financial performance through financial statements.

The objective of the audit is to assess whether MidCoast Council (the Council) has effective financial management arrangements that support councillors and management to fulfil their financial stewardship responsibilities. It considers whether:

  • the Council has an effective governance framework for financial management, through the existence of governance, risk management, internal controls and provision of adequate financial management training, including whether:
    • governance, risk management and internal controls are in place for financial management
    • adequate financial management and governance training and support has been provided to councillors, management and operational managers.
  • the Council has quality and comprehensive internal financial management reporting, including whether:
    • councillors and management have identified and implemented essential internal financial management reporting elements
    • council’s financial systems and data have integrity, and support identified financial management report production requirements
    • council reports are relevant, consistent, reliable, understandable, and tailored towards the requirements of key users (appendix two provides more information about the characteristics of effective financial management reporting).
  • the financial management governance and reporting arrangements support councillors and management to fulfil their financial stewardship responsibilities, including whether councillors and management use internal financial management reporting to:
    • support budget decisions, resource allocation and cost setting (for example fees and charges)
    • monitor financial sustainability
    • assess operational efficiency, financial services and investments
    • make improvements where necessary.

This audit completed fieldwork during November 2022 to February 2023. The audit period of review was from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2022.

Conclusion

MidCoast Council has not effectively carried out long-term financial planning to address its identified long-term financial sustainability challenges.

MidCoast Council has not met all legislative and policy requirements to effectively carry out long-term financial planning. It has not effectively considered and communicated how it will achieve financial sustainability goals and has not identified options to achieve such goals through its long-term financial plan.

Since 2020, and throughout 2021 and 2022, MidCoast Council has identified a need to focus on developing strategies for financial sustainability following the projected operating deficit for its general fund over the next ten years.

In September 2022, the Council took early steps to implement plans that aim to address the identified financial sustainability issues, but the Council has not yet established effective processes to analyse the true cost of services and address its unreliable asset condition data. Both are required to accurately inform its long-term resourcing strategy.

Between FY2019–20 and FY2020–21, MidCoast Council had gaps in its financial management and governance arrangements. The Council has taken some actions to address the gaps throughout FY2021–22.

Between FY2019–20 and FY2020–21, MidCoast Council did not ensure effective financial management governance and reporting arrangements. Over that time, the Council did not perform monthly reconciliation and reporting processes that would provide timely information and assurance to management and councillors over the Council's finances. It did not ensure that all financial management reporting met statutory deadlines for submission to councillors.

During this period, reviews, financial audits and internal audits identified risks to, and gaps in, finance processes, systems and controls. The consequences of these gaps were increased use of manual processes, and risks to the integrity of financial data and information used by management.

During FY2021–22, MidCoast Council implemented actions and processes that have increased transparency and led to improved financial governance. These include addressing and implementing some audit recommendations, and implementing monthly financial management reporting and month-end reconciliations.

MidCoast Council has commenced a $21 million program to improve its customer experience, asset management, ICT and back office business processes. The Council advises that this program has a five-year implementation timeframe and it expects to achieve financial benefits over the ten years following commencement.

MidCoast Council experienced significant challenges in its implementation of a consolidated financial management system following amalgamation in 2016 and the merging of MidCoast Water functions in 2017. This has led to gaps in finance processes and data quality within the system.

In 2016, following amalgamation, MidCoast Council commenced work to procure and implement an enterprise resource planning system which included a consolidated financial management system. In 2017, Council further merged with MidCoast Water and arrangements were made to implement the system (MC1) after the functions of MidCoast water were incorporated. The Council continued to use four separate financial management systems until it commenced a progressive implementation of MC1 from 2019 to 2021. Across MC1's implementation, the Council experienced significant challenges relating to change management, user functionality and configuration.

This meant that the Council did not ensure that all of its staff were using MC1 effectively and efficiently, which led to gaps in finance processes and data quality, and delays in delivering integrated and automated financial processes across the amalgamated Council.

Since implementation, MidCoast Council has used MC1 to carry out finance processes required to collect rates, prepare budgets, monitor expenditure and income and prepare financial statements. 

Appendix one – Response from agency

Appendix two – Characteristics of effective financial management reporting

Appendix three – About the audit 

Appendix four – Performance auditing

 

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.

 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #381 - released 16 June 2023

Published

Actions for Local Government 2022

Local Government 2022

Local Government
Asset valuation
Cyber security
Financial reporting
Information technology

This report is about

Results of the local government sector financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2022.

What we found

Unqualified audit opinions were issued for 83 councils, 11 joint organisations and nine county councils' financial statements.

The financial audits for two councils and two joint organisations are in progress due to accounting issues.

Fifty-seven councils and joint organisations (2021: 41) required extensions to submit their financial statements to the Office of Local Government (OLG), within the Department of Planning and Environment (the department).

The audit opinion on Kiama Municipal Council's 30 June 2021 financial statements was disclaimed due to deficient books and records.

Qualified audit opinions were issued on 43 councils' financial statements due to non-recognition of rural firefighting equipment vested under section 119 (2) of the Rural Fires Act 1997. Forty-seven councils appropriately recognised this equipment.

What we recommended

Consistent with the NSW Government's accounting position and the department's role of assessing councils' compliance with legislative responsibilities, standards or guidelines, the department should intervene where councils do not recognise vested rural firefighting equipment.

The key issues

There were 1,045 audit findings reported to councils in audit management letters, with 52% being unresolved from prior years.

What we recommended

Councils need to track progress of implementing audit recommendations, giving priority to high-risk and repeat issues.

Ninety-three high-risk matters were identified across the sector mainly relating to asset management, information technology, financial accounting and council governance procedures.

Asset valuations

Audit management letters reported 267 findings relating to asset management. Fifty-three councils had deficiencies in processes that ensure assets are fairly stated.

What we recommended

Councils need to complete timely asset valuations (repeat recommendation).

Integrity and completeness of asset source records

Fifty-two councils had weak processes over the integrity of fixed asset registers.

What we recommended

Councils need to improve controls that ensure integrity of asset records (repeat recommendation).

Cybersecurity

Our audits found that 47% of councils did not have a cyber security plan.

What we recommended

All councils need to prioritise creation of a cyber security plan to ensure data and assets are safeguarded.

Pursuant to the Local Government Act 1993 I am pleased to present my Auditor-General's report on Local Government 2022. My report provides the results of the 2021–22 financial audits of 126 councils, 11 joint organisations and nine county councils. The audits for two councils and two joint organisations are in progress due to significant accounting issues.

Unqualified audit opinions were issued for 83 councils, 11 joint organisations and nine county councils' 2021–22 financial statements. The statements for 43 councils were qualified due to non-recognition of rural firefighting equipment vested under section 119 (2) of the Rural Fires Act 1997. And the audit opinion on Kiama Municipal Council's 30 June 2021 financial statements was disclaimed due to deficiencies in books and records.

This year has again been challenging for many New South Wales local councils still recovering from the impact of emergency events and facing cost and resourcing pressures. We appreciate the efforts of council staff and management in meeting their financial reporting obligations. We share a mutual interest in raising the standard of financial management in this sector, and the importance of accurate and transparent reporting.

Disappointingly, accounting for the value of rural firefighting equipment vested in councils continued to be an unnecessary distraction and resulted in 43 councils having their financial statements qualified. We continue to recommend that the Office of Local Government should intervene where councils fail to comply with Australian Accounting Standards by not recognising assets vested to them under section 119(2) of the Rural Fires Act 1997.

Sound financial management is critical to councils' ability to instil trust and properly serve their communities. The recommendations in this report are intended to further improve their financial management and reporting capability, and encourage sound governance arrangements and cyber resilience. I am committed to continuing this work with councils in the 2022–23 year and beyond.

 

Margaret Crawford PSM

Auditor-General for New South Wales

Financial reporting is an important element of good governance. Confidence in and transparency of public sector decision-making are enhanced when financial reporting is accurate and timely.

This chapter outlines audit observations related to the financial reporting audit results of councils and joint organisations.

Section highlights

  • Ninety-three councils and joint organisations (2020–21: 109) lodged audited financial statements with OLG by the statutory deadline of 31 October.
  • More councils received extensions. Fifty-seven councils and joint organisations (2020–21: 41) received extensions to submit audited financial statements to OLG.
  • Unqualified audit opinions were issued for 83 councils, 11 joint organisations and nine county councils 2021–22 financial statements.
  • A disclaimer of audit opinion was issued to Kiama Municipal Council relating to the 30 June 2021 financial statements.
  • The audits of two councils and two joint organisations are still in progress as at the date of this report due to significant accounting issues.
  • Qualified audit opinions were issued for 43 councils (2020–21: one) due to non-recognition of rural firefighting equipment vested to councils under the Rural Fires Act 1997 in their financial statements. Forty-seven councils appropriately recognised this equipment.
  • Since 2017, the Audit Office of New South Wales has recommended that OLG address the different practices across the local government sector in accounting for the rural firefighting equipment. Despite repeated recommendations, the OLG has not been effective in resolving this issue.
  • The OLG within the department should now intervene where councils do not recognise rural firefighting equipment.
  • The total number of errors and total dollar values (including corrected and uncorrected) in the financial statements decreased compared to prior year.
  • Eighty-two per cent of councils performed some early financial reporting procedures (2020–21: 59%). We continue to recommend that OLG should require early close procedures across the local government sector.

A strong system of internal controls enables councils to operate effectively and efficiently, produce reliable financial reports, comply with laws and regulations, and support ethical government.

This chapter outlines the overall trends in governance and internal controls across councils and joint organisations in 2021–22.

Financial audits focus on key governance matters and internal controls supporting the preparation of councils’ financial statements. Breakdowns and weaknesses in internal controls increase the risk of fraud and error. Deficiencies in internal controls, matters of governance interest and unresolved issues are reported to management and those charged with governance through audit management letters. These letters include our observations, related implications, recommendations and risk ratings.

Section highlights

  • Total number of audit findings reported in audit management letters decreased from 1,277 in 2020–21 to 1,045 in 2021–22.
  • Total number of high-risk audit findings increased from 92 in 2021–21 to 93 in 2021–22. Forty-three (2020–21: 60) of the high-risk findings in 2021–22 related to the non-recognition of vested rural firefighting equipment in councils’ financial statements.
  • Ninety per cent of total high-risk findings in 2021–22 were repeat findings. Thirty-two per cent of these high-risk findings were escalated from unactioned moderate risk findings in 2020–21.
  • Fifty-two per cent (2020–21: 53%) of findings reported in audit management letters were repeat or partial repeat findings. We continue to recommend councils and those charged with governance track progress of implementing recommendations from our audits.
  • Governance, asset management and information technology comprise over 65% (2020–21: 62%) of findings and continue to be key areas requiring improvement. Eleven per cent of these findings were high risk in 2021–22.
  • A number of repeat recommendations were made relating to asset valuations and integrity of asset data records, in response to the findings that:
    • 52 (2021: 67) councils had weak processes over maintenance, completeness and security of fixed asset registers
    • 53 (2021: 58) councils had deficiencies in their processes to revalue infrastructure assets.
  • Sixty-three (2021: 65) councils have yet to implement basic governance and internal controls to manage cyber security. We recommended that all councils should create a cyber security plan in order to ensure cyber security risks over key data and IT assets are appropriately managed and key data is safeguarded. Councils should refer to the ‘Cyber Security Guidelines for NSW Local Government’ released by the OLG.

Total number of findings reported in audit management letters decreased

The following shows the overall findings of the 2021–22 audits reported in management letters compared with the previous year.

Appendix one – Response from the Office of Local Government within the Department of Planning and Environment

Appendix two – Status of audits

Appendix three – Councils received qualified audit opinions

Appendix four – Common reasons for council extensions

 

 

Copyright notice

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.

 

Published

Actions for Natural disasters

Natural disasters

Community Services
Environment
Finance
Local Government
Planning
Transport
Treasury
Whole of Government
Asset valuation
Compliance
Financial reporting
Infrastructure
Regulation
Risk
Service delivery

What this report is about

This report draws together the financial impact of natural disasters on agencies integral to the response and impact of natural disasters during 2021–22.

What we found

Over the 2021–22 financial year $1.4 billion from a budget of $1.9 billion was spent by the NSW Government in response to natural disasters.

Total expenses were less than the budget due to underspend in the following areas:

  • clean-up assistance, including council grants
  • anticipated temporary accommodation support
  • payments relating to the Northern Rivers Business Support scheme for small businesses.

Natural disaster events damaged council assets such as roads, bridges, waste collection centres and other facilities used to provide essential services. Additional staff, contractors and experts were engaged to restore and repair damaged assets and minimise disruption to service delivery.

At 30 June 2022, the estimated damage to council infrastructure assets totalled $349 million.

Over the first half of the 2022–23 financial year, councils experienced further damage to infrastructure assets due to natural disasters. NSW Government spending on natural disasters continued with a further $1.1 billion spent over this period.

Thirty-six councils did not identify climate change or natural disaster as a strategic risk despite 22 of these having at least one natural disaster during 2021–22.

Section highlights

  • $1.4 billion from a budget of $1.9 billion was spent by the NSW Government in response to natural disasters during 2021–22.
  • Budget underspent for temporary housing and small business support as lower than expected need.

Section highlights

  • 83 local council areas were impacted by natural disasters during 2021–22, with 58 being impacted by more than one type of natural disaster.
  • $349 million damage to council infrastructure assets at 30 June 2022.

 

Published

Actions for Universities 2022

Universities 2022

Universities
Compliance
Cyber security
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Service delivery

What this report is about

Results of the financial statement audits of the public universities in NSW for the year ended 31 December 2022.

What we found

Unmodified audit opinions were issued for all ten universities.

Nine universities reported net deficits in 2022, and all showed a decline from their 2021 results.

Results were impacted by a decline in investment income and government grants.

Wage remediation provisions across the universities increased by 116% to $110 million at 31 December 2022.

Expenditure increased as universities transitioned back to face-to-face teaching with the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions.

Revenue from overseas students decreased by 0.5% overall in 2022, although not all universities were impacted equally.

Nearly 42% of fees and charges revenue came from overseas student revenue from three countries of origin (43% in 2021).

What the key issues were

We reported 88 findings to universities on internal control deficiencies (105 in 2021).

Six high risk findings were identified (four in 2021), relating to:

  • IT control deficiencies in monitoring privileged user access
  • password configuration
  • cyber security process improvements
  • lack of security over access to EFT payment files
  • the status of a university's work in assessing its liability for underpayment of staff
  • inadequate review of contracts leading to incorrect accounting treatments.

Two out of 13 entities reported financial losses from cyber incidents in 2022.

Retention policies on personally identifiable information (PII) vary and universities can further reduce their PII exposure risk from cyber attack.

What we recommended

Universities should:

  • conduct a comprehensive assessment of their employment agreements and historical pay practices to identify potential underpayments
  • prioritise actions to address repeat findings on internal control deficiencies in a timely manner
  • review their PII retention policies to ensure PII stored is limited to the entity's needs, held only for the minimum duration it is legally and operationally required, and access is strictly limited.

This report provides Parliament with the results of our financial audits of universities in New South Wales and their controlled entities in 2022, including our analysis, observations and recommendations in the following areas:

  • financial reporting
  • internal controls and governance
  • teaching and research.

Financial reporting is an important element of good governance. Confidence and transparency in university sector decision-making are enhanced when financial reporting is accurate and timely.

This chapter outlines our audit observations related to the financial reporting of universities in NSW for 2022.

Section highlights

  • The 2022 financial statements of all ten universities received unmodified audit opinions.
  • Wage remediation provisions across the NSW universities increased by 116% to $110 million at 31 December 2022.
  • Nine universities reported net deficits in 2022, and all showed a decline from 2021 results.
  • Revenue from overseas students decreased by 0.5% in 2022, as overseas student enrolments decreased by 1.2%. Almost 42% of universities' fees and charges revenue in 2022 came from overseas students from three countries (down from 43% in 2021).
  • Revenue from domestic students decreased by 0.7% in 2022, as domestic student enrolments decreased by 5.3%.
  • Combined expenditure for universities increased by 6.6% to $11.2 billion in 2022. Most of this was attributed to employee related expenses, which increased by 4.9%. 

Appropriate financial controls help to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and administration of policies. They are essential for quality and timely decision-making.

This chapter outlines our observations and insights from our financial statement audits of NSW universities.

Our audits do not review all aspects of internal controls and governance every year. The more significant issues and risks are included in this chapter. These, along with the less significant matters, are reported to universities for management to address.

Section highlights

  • The 2022 audits identified six high risk and 36 moderate risk issues across NSW universities. Sixteen of the moderate risk issues were repeat issues. Many repeat issues related to information technology controls around user access management.
  • The number of repeat deficiencies has decreased with 41 reported in 2022 compared to 45 in 2021.
  • Two out of 13 entities reported financial losses from cyber incidents during 2022.
  • Retention policies on personally identifiable information (PII) vary across entities and opportunities exist for entities to further limit their PII exposure risk from cyber attack.

Universities' primary objectives are teaching and research. They invest most of their resources aiming to achieve quality outcomes in academia and student experience. Universities have committed to achieving certain government targets and compete to advance their reputation and their standing in international and Australian rankings.

This chapter outlines teaching and research outcomes for universities in NSW for 2022.

Section highlights

  • Seven universities were reported as having full-time employment rates of their domestic undergraduates in 2022 that were greater than the national average.
  • Enrolments at NSW universities decreased the most in Science related courses in 2022. The largest increase in enrolments was in Health courses.
  • On average, universities delivered 21% of their courses primarily through online means in 2022, a decrease from 59% in 2021.
  • Five universities in 2021 were reported as meeting the target enrolment rate for students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds.
  • Seven universities reported increased enrolments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in 2021.

Appendix one – List of 2022 recommendations

Appendix two – Status of 2021 recommendations

Appendix three – Universities' controlled entities 

 

Copyright notice

© Copyright reserved by the Audit Office of New South Wales. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The Audit Office does not accept responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any of this material.