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Reports

Published

Actions for Volume Fourteen 2014 Focusing on Trade and Investment

Volume Fourteen 2014 Focusing on Trade and Investment

Planning
Finance
Asset valuation
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Risk

There are 63 agencies in the DTIRIS cluster. These agencies include nine electricity and eight water agencies that were reported in the NSW Auditor-General’s report to Parliament Volume Five 2014 on 11 November 2014. Commentary in this volume is on the remaining 46 DTIRIS cluster agencies. The findings found the quality of financial statements in the trade and investment cluster needs to improve.

Published

Actions for Volume Eleven 2014 Focusing on Planning and Environment

Volume Eleven 2014 Focusing on Planning and Environment

Planning
Local Government
Environment
Asset valuation
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Risk

The quality of financial reporting in the planning and environment cluster continues to improve with fewer reported misstatements over the last two years. The financial statements of all agencies within this cluster received unqualified audit opinions, except for one small agency where the audit is incomplete. Many cluster agencies’ actual revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities varied from budget by more than five per cent, suggesting financial manag

Published

Actions for Volume Five 2014 Focusing on Electricity and Water

Volume Five 2014 Focusing on Electricity and Water

Planning
Environment
Asset valuation
Compliance
Financial reporting
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Project management
Risk

In 2013-14, the NSW Government electricity businesses generated $9 billion in revenue ($9.6 billion during 2012-13) and achieved a combined net profit after tax of $1.5 billion ($1.6 billion). The combined profit after tax for NSW Distributors was $1.2 billion in 2013-14 down from $1.3 billion in 2012-13. The Distributors’ revenues decreased by $205 million to $6.8 billion in 2013-14, largely due to lower consumption by customers associated with milder w

Published

Actions for Volume Four 2014 focusing on New South Wales State Finances

Volume Four 2014 focusing on New South Wales State Finances

Education
Community Services
Finance
Health
Industry
Justice
Local Government
Planning
Premier and Cabinet
Transport
Treasury
Universities
Whole of Government
Asset valuation
Financial reporting
Internal controls and governance

For the second consecutive year, the General Government and Total State Sector Accounts received an unqualified auditor’s opinion following more than a decade of qualifications. The quality and timeliness of financial reporting across the NSW public sector has continued to improve. Compared to previous years, there were fewer errors in agencies’ 2013–14 financial statements submitted for audit and used for whole-of-government financial reporting.

Published

Actions for Managing Contaminated Sites

Managing Contaminated Sites

Planning
Industry
Environment
Compliance
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Project management
Regulation
Risk

NSW Government agencies with large landholdings need to better manage their contaminated sites. When contaminated sites are reported to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) there are long delays in assessing the extent of contamination. The EPA also lacks the management controls to ensure that all significantly contaminated sites are actively monitored and key milestones for remediation are met.   Parliamentary reference - Report number #

Published

Actions for Making the Most of Government Purchasing Power - Telecommunications

Making the Most of Government Purchasing Power - Telecommunications

Whole of Government
Compliance
Information technology
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Procurement

The Auditor-General has found that agencies have consistently failed to negotiate the best price for their telecommunication contracts and are not getting value for money because of inadequate contract and expense management processes. The audit examined six agencies to assess whether the government was getting value for money from its telecommunications contracts. It again raised problems with the way NSW government agencies manage contracts.  

Published

Actions for Volume One 2014 - Areas of focus from 2013

Volume One 2014 - Areas of focus from 2013

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

Today the Auditor-General of New South Wales, Grant Hehir, released his Volume One Report to Parliament for 2014. The observations included in this report are designed to inform readers of common findings from the 2013 financial and performance audits so agencies and audit committees can use them to identify issues that may be relevant to their organisations.

Published

Actions for Implementing Asset Management Reforms

Implementing Asset Management Reforms

Justice
Planning
Finance
Treasury
Asset valuation
Financial reporting
Infrastructure
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Project management

Hospitals, schools, public housing, roads, bridges, buses and trains are just some of the assets used by government in providing services to citizens. The NSW Government’s asset base is impressive in size - with a value of around $167 billion and with government plans to spend around $8 billion acquiring or replacing assets in the current year. Another $2 billion is spent each year on maintenance. Good asset management is very important to government;

Published

Actions for Planning for Sydney's Water Needs

Planning for Sydney's Water Needs

Planning
Environment
Infrastructure
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Procurement
Project management
Service delivery

Reliably supplying water to our State’s principal city, Sydney, is a major responsibility for the Government. The community has been made keenly aware in recent years that inflows have been decreasing, and that Sydney has been using more water than is available. In April 2005 the water in Sydney’s storages dropped to 41.5 per cent of their capacity – the lowest level since the construction of Warragamba dam in 1960. As Sydney continues to develop, it i

Published

Actions for Follow-up of Performance Audit: Management of Intellectual Property

Follow-up of Performance Audit: Management of Intellectual Property

Whole of Government
Compliance
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Regulation

Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accept from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. Intellectual property (IP) can have value to the agency concerned and may have the potential for wider commercial use. Poor management of IP can impose risks, including the risk of lost opportunities. Because it is not ‘tangible’ like a building or pla