Our Annual plan 2023/24 was presented to the House of Representatives and published today. We finalised the annual plan after seeking feedback from Parliament, public organisations, and the public, and we thank all those who shared their views on our work programme for the year ahead.

A key accountability document for our Office, the annual plan sets out the discretionary work that we intend to carry out during 2023/24. This includes performance audits, inquiries, special studies, commentaries and research, regular reports and updates, and good practice guidance

As always, the focus of our work will be on the areas where we can best influence improvements in the performance and accountability of public organisations. Our work programme includes audits on cyber security, climate reporting, mental health services for young people, and reducing child poverty. We will also continue our public accountability research with a focus on government-community partnerships, and further focus on integrity and value for money.

This year, we surveyed about 1000 members of the public to find out what is most important to them. As a result, and following feedback on our draft annual plan, we have included a new performance audit topic on infrastructure resilience in our work programme for 2023/24.

The plan is aligned with the priorities set out in our strategic intentions document. The public audit system is critical to ensuring robust public accountability and the plan includes the work we are doing to further strengthen our core assurance role and address audits deferred due to Covid-19. In 2023/24, we intend to complete audits within normal statutory reporting deadlines (in line with audit completion rates before the Covid-19 pandemic).

In 2023/24, we will also introduce a new product – a rapid audit. The rapid audit will be a shorter form of performance audit, designed to provide clarity or insight on matters of immediate public interest in a short time frame.

A key area of government expenditure over the next few years will be the response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events. This has already involved significant public expenditure and is affecting the work of many public organisations. We will track the funding of initiatives relating to the recovery from these severe weather events and what has been achieved with the spending.

You can read our Annual plan 2023/24 in full on our website.

Responses to our recommendations about strategic suppliers

We have published letters from five public organisations responding to the recommendations in our 2021 report Strategic suppliers: Understanding and managing the risks of service disruption.

The 2021 report looked at the public sector’s understanding and management of strategic supplier risk. Strategic suppliers provide goods and services that are critical to the delivery of public services and are not easily replaced. New Zealanders expect these public services to be available when they need them, particularly during personal or national emergencies.

Our 2021 report made five recommendations to selected public organisations about their understanding and management of strategic supplier risk.

We asked the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission, the Department of Internal Affairs, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Treasury, and the National Emergency Management Agency for an update on their response to these recommendations.

You can read what these public organisations have said about their progress. We have not audited the information in their responses. The Treasury contributed to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s response, and did not send us a separate letter.

Our Sector Managers will continue to discuss progress on our 2021 recommendations with these public organisations as part of their usual engagement work. We also intend to request another formal update on progress in 12 months’ time, and may consider doing further audit work in the future.

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

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