COVID-19: Statement On OAG's Plans And Response

COVID-19 statement

The Office of the Auditor-General is committed to helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Our main concern is the health and welfare of our staff, and the people we interact with. We're following the advice of the Ministry of Health, preparing to work from home if need be, and remaining flexible as the COVID-19 situation evolves.

Disruptions to audit work

It is already clear there will be delays and disruptions as public organisations send staff home to work or ask auditors not to come onto their premises. All audits need to continue to be done well. In times of great disruption, audit quality is more important than timeliness.

It is clear that the current situation will have significant financial implications for some of the public organisations that we audit. As well as making contingency plans for different scenarios, we are considering the likely effects on the financial and service performance of public organisations.

We are actively looking at ways to progress audits and other work in the context of the current COVID-19 requirements.

Safety of our staff and visitors to our offices

The health and welfare of people is our paramount concern. We are expecting all our staff to stay home if they are feeling unwell, to stay home until fully recovered, and to comply with all the self-isolation advice.

We are discouraging any non-essential domestic travel and using online meetings wherever possible. We are also reinforcing the good hygiene messages from the Ministry of Health. This means that visitors to our offices are as safe as possible. We expect any visitors to our offices, and others we work with, to also be following the Ministry of Health's guidelines.

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