Publications produced during 2008

Housing New Zealand Corporation: Maintenance of state housing

December 2008: We carried out a performance audit to provide Parliament with assurance about the effectiveness of the systems and processes Housing New Zealand Corporation uses to maintain state housing...

MPs' guide to the Auditor-General

December 2008: This booklet explains the role of the Controller and Auditor-General, the Auditor-General’s independence, the support the Auditor-General can provide to MPs, the statutory functions of the Auditor-General, and what the Auditor-General does not do...

Ministry of Health: Monitoring the progress of the Primary Health Care Strategy

October 2008: We audited how the Ministry of Health has monitored progress toward the Primary Health Care Strategy’s goals. Overall, the Ministry needs to review its measures to ensure that it can assess progress toward all of the goals in the Strategy’s vision statement...

Annual report for the year ended 30 June 2008

September 2008, ISBN 978-0-478-32618-5.

Spending public money wisely and well: how to put basic principles into practice

August 2008: A copy of the slides and the supporting paper presented by Nicola White at the New Zealand Law Society's CLE Ltd Administrative Law Intensive.

Ministry of Education: Supporting professional development for teachers

August 2008: We carried out a performance audit that looked at the Ministry of Education's arrangements to support the professional development of primary and secondary school teachers after they have graduated from a teacher education programme...

Inquiry into the West Coast Development Trust

August 2008: The Auditor-General decided in October last year to conduct an inquiry into the operations of the West Coast Development Trust (the Trust), after receiving information on the workings of the Trust, including allegations of conflicts of interest...

Maintaining and renewing the rail network

July 2008: We carried out a performance audit to provide assurance about the effectiveness of Ontrack’s systems for maintaining and renewing the rail network...

Reporting the progress of defence acquisition projects

June 2008: An interim report setting out a high-level summary of cost and time frame changes for 10 defence projects...

Ministry of Education: Monitoring and supporting school boards of trustees

June 2008: Overall, the Ministry provides some useful training and general support for all boards. It also has good systems for supporting boards that are clearly at risk of poor performance. We have made nine recommendations...

Charging fees for public sector goods and services

June 2008: This guide is intended for all public entities that have statutory authority to charge fees for the goods and services that they are obliged to provide...

The Auditor-General's observations on the quality of performance reporting

June 2008: Overall, the poor quality of non-financial performance reporting by public entities is disappointing. It needs to improve significantly to allow Parliament and the public to hold public entities accountable for their use of taxes and rates...

Local government: Results of the 2006/07 audits

June 2008, ISBN 978-0-478-32610-9.

Managing funding to non-government organisations – from principles to practice

June 2008: We looked at how an entity put the principles and risk-based approach we expect into practice in its funding arrangements with NGOs...

Procurement guidance for public entities

June 2008: This guide outlines our view of the good practice that public entities should use to procure goods or services...

Public sector purchases, grants, and gifts: Managing funding arrangements with external parties

June 2008: The aim of this guide is to help public entities make informed decisions and manage risks when funding an external party...

The Accident Compensation Corporation's leadership in the implementation of the national falls prevention strategy

June 2008: The Accident Compensation Corporation has carried out useful work leading the strategy, but progress has been uneven. We identified two matters for ACC's immediate attention - its leadership mandate and the evaluation framework...

Ministry of Social Development: Preventing, detecting, and investigating benefit fraud

June 2008: Overall, the Ministry has good systems, policies, and procedures for preventing, detecting, and investigating benefit fraud. We have made eight recommendations...

Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation: Governance and management of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund

May 2008: We carried out a performance audit of the Guardians to provide independent assurance to Parliament about whether the Superannuation Fund is being prudently governed and managed...

Central government: Results of the 2006/07 audits

May 2008, ISBN 978-0-478-32602-4.

The Auditor-General's Auditing Standards

May 2008, ISBN 978-0-478-32601-7

Responses to the Coroner's recommendations on the June 2003 Air Adventures crash

May 2008: At the Minister of Transport’s request, we looked at how the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transport considered, responded to, and reported on each of the Coroner’s recommendations...

Annual plan 2008/09

May 2008, ISSN 1178-8488.

2008 Peer Review of our Office

Report on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Office of the Auditor-General of New Zealand by an International Peer Review Team, published in March 2008...

Inland Revenue Department: Effectiveness of the Industry Partnership programme

April 2008: We looked at an IRD programme that sought to reduce the incidence of undeclared income from cash transactions...

Audit committees in the public sector

April 2008: This guide sets out the principles and good practices needed to set up and effectively operate an audit committee in the public sector...

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise: Administration of grant programmes - follow-up audit

March 2008: We assessed the extent to which New Zealand Trade and Enterprise had addressed the areas of concern identified when we last examined its administration of grant programmes...

Mental health services for prisoners

March 2008: We conducted a performance audit that focused on the effectiveness of the agencies' systems for delivering mental health services to sentenced and remand prisoners...

New Zealand Agency for International Development: Management of overseas aid programmes

January 2008: We examined the effectiveness of the New Zealand Agency for International Development's management of overseas aid programmes...

Speeches

Speeches and presentations delivered during 2008 by staff of the Office of the Auditor-General.