Auditor-General’s Overview cont… Compliance audits were conducted at 14 Agencies during the period covered by this report. The issues raised by the audits bear similarities to the results of similar audits conducted in other Agencies in earlier periods and while I do not consider the results to affect the reliability of data used in the preparation of the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statements, they do highlight the need for Accountable Officers to satisfy themselves on a regular basis that their internal controls are functioning in the way that might be expected. The restructuring of the General Government Sector over the past two years has presented a number of challenges to Accountable Officers and the extended use of service level agreements under which a number of Agencies are providing financial and other administrative services to other Agencies only serves to highlight the importance of ensuring that internal controls are, in fact, in place and performing their intended roles. Outsourcing of functions does not relieve an Accountable Officer of primary responsibility for the reliability of ensuring that internal controls in his or her Agency are in place and operating properly. The compliance audits undertaken over the six months to 30 June 2014 did not identify any material issues. When that result is considered in the context of the significant changes to the General Government Sector that have occurred since 2012, I believe it is a testament to the efforts of Accountable Officers and the staff of their respective Agencies. It has become customary to conduct information technology audits during the first half of the financial year in order to gain some assurance about the adequacy of information system controls in order to form a view as to whether those systems can be relied upon as part of the audits or reviews of financial statements that are conducted at the end of the financial year. Included in this report are the results of audits of the Electronic Invoice Management System that is used by Agencies, a review of the Trust Accounting Database, used by the Department of the AttorneyGeneral and Justice, and the Police Real-time Online Management Information System, used by the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
Auditor-General’s Overview cont… Compliance audits were conducted at 14 Agencies during the period covered by this report. The issues raised by the audits bear similarities to the results of similar audits conducted in other Agencies in earlier periods and while I do not consider the results to affect the reliability of data used in the preparation of the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statements, they do highlight the need for Accountable Officers to satisfy themselves on a regular basis that their internal controls are functioning in the way that might be expected. The restructuring of the General Government Sector over the past two years has presented a number of challenges to Accountable Officers and the extended use of service level agreements under which a number of Agencies are providing financial and other administrative services to other Agencies only serves to highlight the importance of ensuring that internal controls are, in fact, in place and performing their intended roles. Outsourcing of functions does not relieve an Accountable Officer of primary responsibility for the reliability of ensuring that internal controls in his or her Agency are in place and operating properly. The compliance audits undertaken over the six months to 30 June 2014 did not identify any material issues. When that result is considered in the context of the significant changes to the General Government Sector that have occurred since 2012, I believe it is a testament to the efforts of Accountable Officers and the staff of their respective Agencies. It has become customary to conduct information technology audits during the first half of the financial year in order to gain some assurance about the adequacy of information system controls in order to form a view as to whether those systems can be relied upon as part of the audits or reviews of financial statements that are conducted at the end of the financial year. Included in this report are the results of audits of the Electronic Invoice Management System that is used by Agencies, a review of the Trust Accounting Database, used by the Department of the AttorneyGeneral and Justice, and the Police Real-time Online Management Information System, used by the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
2014_August.docx