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Published

Actions for Internal Controls and Governance 2017

Internal Controls and Governance 2017

Finance
Education
Community Services
Health
Justice
Whole of Government
Asset valuation
Compliance
Cyber security
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Project management
Risk

Agencies need to do more to address risks posed by information technology (IT). Effective internal controls and governance systems help agencies to operate efficiently and effectively and comply with relevant laws, standards and policies. We assessed how well agencies are implementing these systems, and highlighted opportunities for improvement.   1. Overall trends New and

Published

Actions for Justice 2017

Justice 2017

Justice
Asset valuation
Compliance
Financial reporting
Fraud

The following report focuses on key observations and findings from the most recent audits of law and order and emergency services agencies in the Justice cluster. No qualified audit opinions were issued on Justice agencies' financial statements. However, agencies that used the Department of Justice as their service provider experienced difficulties finalising their accounts. This was due to issues with the department’s implementation of a new finan

Published

Actions for State Finances 2017

State Finances 2017

Finance
Health
Industry
Justice
Local Government
Planning
Premier and Cabinet
Treasury
Universities
Whole of Government
Environment
Asset valuation
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance

Total State Sector Accounts received an unqualified audit opinion for the fifth consecutive year. There was a $5.7 billion State budget surplus and continued investment in new infrastructure, in part funded by the long-term leases of Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy assets. This report also comments on key accounting matters, including the correction of some previously reported balances and the first time reporting of combined Cabinet members’ com

Published

Actions for 2016 - An overview

2016 - An overview

Education
Community Services
Finance
Health
Industry
Justice
Local Government
Planning
Premier and Cabinet
Transport
Treasury
Universities
Whole of Government
Environment
Asset valuation
Compliance
Cyber security
Financial reporting
Fraud
Information technology
Infrastructure
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Procurement
Project management
Regulation
Risk
Service delivery
Shared services and collaboration
Workforce and capability

This report focuses on key observations and findings from 2016 audits and highlights key areas of focus for financial and performance audits in 2017. The quality and timeliness of financial reporting continued to improve across the NSW public sector in 2016. Only one qualified audit opinion was issued and most agencies signed their financial statements on time. We found the Government’s cluster governance arrangements were unclear and inconsisten

Published

Actions for Volume Seven 2015 Part One Law and Order

Volume Seven 2015 Part One Law and Order

Justice
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Project management
Risk

Many factors are contributing to the overcrowding of the NSW prison system. This is in turn putting pressure on operations in the courts, and could ultimately impact rates of reoffending. The lack of capacity is impacting more than just the NSW prison system. Over the weekend of 31 October 2015 some inmates held by the NSW Police Force could not be brought before a court because of capacity shortages. This was one of the findings reported in Volume Sev

Published

Actions for Volume Seven 2015 Part Two Emergency Services

Volume Seven 2015 Part Two Emergency Services

Justice
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Project management
Risk

Demand for emergency services increased by eight per cent, in response to 187,282 incidents during 2014-15. Total volunteer numbers have risen over the last three years by 2.4 per cent to 98,536, improving capacity to deal with such incidents. NSW Rural Fire Service had only five emergency declarations in 2014-15 compared to 48 the year before, resulting in natural disaster expenditure falling by $89.0 million.   Fire and Rescue NSW response time to

Published

Actions for Volume Four 2015 Treasury and State Finances

Volume Four 2015 Treasury and State Finances

Treasury
Whole of Government
Asset valuation
Compliance
Financial reporting
Internal controls and governance

For the third consecutive year, the General Government and Total State Sector Accounts received an unqualified auditor’s opinion following more than a decade of qualifications.   Errors in agencies’ financial statements and the Total State Sector Accounts were corrected as necessary to ensure compliance with Australian Accounting Standards and the requirements of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983.   Improvements to year-end financial report

Published

Actions for Large construction projects

Large construction projects

Treasury
Transport
Health
Industry
Planning
Premier and Cabinet
Whole of Government
Compliance
Infrastructure
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Procurement
Project management

The independent assurance given to the NSW Government and sponsor agencies on the viability of large capital projects throughout their lifecycle is inadequate. Government policy is regularly not followed and not properly communicated to those responsible for implementing such policy.   This audit sought to test the effectiveness of the NSW capital project assurance system - which includes gateway reviews and reporting - but significant levels of non

Published

Actions for Areas of focus from 2014

Areas of focus from 2014

Education
Community Services
Finance
Health
Industry
Justice
Local Government
Planning
Premier and Cabinet
Transport
Treasury
Universities
Whole of Government
Environment
Compliance
Financial reporting
Fraud
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Procurement
Project management
Risk

The 2014 audits showed that the quality and timeliness of financial reporting have continued to improve. However, many agencies do not have financial sustainability indicators that provide early warning of management issues, such as an inability to meet financial obligations. Weaknesses were identified in information security, management of leave balances, asset management and internal controls.   Governance issues and gaps in performance informat