Setting auditing standards

Because the Auditor-General is responsible for auditing all public entities, it is important that the Office ensures that audits are performed effectively and efficiently, and in accordance with relevant professional accounting and auditing standards, as well as the Auditor-General’s own published auditing standards.

The Auditor-General’s Auditing Standards establish the minimum standards to be applied to audits, inquiries, and other auditing services carried out on behalf of the Auditor-General.

Under section 23 of the Public Audit Act 2001, the Auditor-General must publish the Auditing Standards, by way of a report to the House of Representatives, “at least once every 3 years”. Each annual report must include a description of any significant changes made to the standards during a financial year.

The Auditing Standards consist of the ethical and professional standards of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA), supplemented by the Auditor-General’s Statements, and (where there is no NZICA standard) the Auditor-General’s Specific Standards.

Page last updated: 24 March 2011