Auditor-General's annual report and councillors' guide published

The Auditor-General’s Annual report 2018/19 was presented to the House of Representatives today.

Our report looks at how we contributed to improving the trust in, and the value of, our public sector. Key indicators show that trust and confidence in New Zealand’s public sector remains high.

We have made good progress on our procurement work programme, and we are close to completing our water management work. Our inquiry work has reinforced important messages about setting the right tone at the top and remembering that, where public money is concerned, the ends do not justify the means. Our annual audit work continues to be fundamental to what we do, and where we do the most to improve trust and promote value.

This annual report also highlights where we need to improve and how we are positioning ourselves for the future. We can do more to add value to the public sector by giving more insights from our audit work. We also need to improve the timeliness of our work in some areas.

Our work programme for the coming year is focused on several new areas, including how government activities contribute to outcomes through our multi-year work programme Improving the lives of New Zealanders.

Support for mayors, chairs, and councillors

With the local body elections behind us, our community-chosen representatives are starting to take up the difficult but essential job as mayors, chairs, and councillors for the next three years.

We want to support our councils to maintain an effective culture, leadership approach, and systems. To help with this, we have released the Councillors’ guide to the Auditor-General.

We have also produced three short videos, summarising the important points about:
• managing conflicts of interest;
• effective audit and risk committees; and
• maintaining trust and confidence.

We’d like your feedback: Our website includes a feedback form. Please tell us if you found our information useful.

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