Local Government: Results of the 1999-2000 Audits

Introduction

This report constitutes our "annual report" on the audits for 1999-2000 of the local government sector of the Audit Office’s audit portfolio. The majority of these audits are of the regional and territorial local authorities – including subsidiary entities – that are established and governed principally by the Local Government Act 1974.

Purposes of this Report

The purposes of this report are to:

• advise Parliament and local authorities on matters arising from our role as auditor of regional and territorial local authorities;
• identify areas appropriate for legislative clarification or amendment; and
• outline the Audit Office’s expectations of "best-practice" on issues of financial management and reporting, governance, and contracting.

As well as being of interest to Members of Parliament and local authorities, we envisage this Report will be of interest to a broad range of individuals and groups that have an interest in the local government sector.