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Part 1.2 - High-Level Objectives of the Vote

Public entities are accountable to Parliament for their use of the public resources and powers that Parliament has conferred on them. Parliament has also legislated to require independent assurance that public entities are operating, and accounting for their performance, in accordance with Parliament's intentions.

The Public Audit Act 2001 provides for the Controller and Auditor-General (the Auditor-General) to give independent assurance to Parliament and the public on matters of effectiveness and efficiency, waste, probity, and financial prudence.

The audit work carried out by the Auditor-General and the resulting assurance helps public entities to make improvements in their use of the resources and powers entrusted to them and in their accounting to Parliament and the public for their use of these.

The Auditor-General is an Officer of Parliament and is independent of executive Government and Parliament in discharging the functions of the statutory office, but is answerable to Parliament for her stewardship of the public resources entrusted to her. While the Speaker is the Vote Minister for the purposes of appropriations, the Speaker's role in relation to Offices of Parliament is not the same as that of Ministers of the Crown in relation to their departments.

The Speaker cannot contract with or direct the Auditor-General as to how she should discharge her statutory duties. Thus, the explanation of the appropriations for Vote Audit reflects the Auditor-General's perspective of the outputs that will be delivered to Parliament from Vote Audit. The appropriations in this Vote were commended to the Governor-General by the House of Representatives in an address on the recommendation of the Officers of Parliament Committee.

Objectives of the Vote

Outcome Objectives and Output Classes - Audit
Outcome Objective and Output Classes
Trusted public sector
New Zealand's Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index score is maintained or improved.
  • In 2011, New Zealand's score was 9.5 on a 10-point scale, meaning New Zealand rated first in the world. New Zealand has achieved a high place on the index since it started in 1995.
The State Services Commission's biannual Kiwis Count Survey (see Note 1) shows that the public's confidence that public servants do a good job is improved (or at least maintained).
  • Rates of public trust increased between 2008 and 2010 with 33% in 2010 agreeing they had confidence in public servants compared to 29% in 2008. Rates of people disagreeing decreased from 22% in 2010 to 19% in 2008.
 Independent advice and assurance through our output classes:
  • audit and assurance services
  • supporting accountability to Parliament, and
  • performance audits and inquiries.
Appropriately responsible public sector behaviour
The percentage of audited financial reports issued for public entities within statutory time frame is improved or maintained.
  • The percentage of audit reports issued within statutory timeframes has been increasing from 79% in 2008 to 87% in 2011.
The State Services Commission's Integrity and Conduct Survey (see Note 2) shows improved or maintained rates of State servants who reported that State service agencies promote their standards of integrity and conduct.
  • The percentage of public servants who reported their agency promotes its standard of integrity and conduct increased slightly between 2008 and 2010 from 50% to 51%. In 2008, 45% said that integrity training is provided by their agency, and this increased to 56% in 2010.
The State Services Commission's Integrity and Conduct Survey shows improved or maintained rates of State servants who reported that where they observed misconduct breaches in the past year they reported it.
  • The rates of observed misconduct decreased from 33% in 2007 to 29% in 2010, while the rates of those who said they had observed misconduct and had reported it increased from around 50% in 2007 to 63% in 2010.
 Independent advice and assurance through our output classes:
  • audit and assurance services
  • supporting accountability to Parliament, and
  • performance audits and inquiries.
High-performing public sector
The State Services Commission's biannual Kiwis Count Survey shows improved or maintained rates of respondents reporting that their most recent public service experience was an example of good value for tax dollars spent.
  • The rates of people agreeing increased from 55% in 2008 to 64% in 2010. Rates of people disagreeing decreased from 24% in 2008 to 18% in 2010.
The State Services Commission's biannual Kiwis Count Survey shows improved or maintained rates of public satisfaction with respondents':
1. most recent public service experience; and
2. experience of public services in the last year compared with non-government agencies.
  • Methodology changes in the Kiwis Count Survey between 2008 and 2010 mean that the results are not directly comparable. However the results do confirm that public satisfaction with respondents most recent public experience improved, and that public services continue to be rated better than experiences with non-government services.
 Independent advice and assurance through our output classes:
  • audit and assurance services
  • supporting accountability to Parliament, and
  • performance audits and inquiries.

Note 1 - Kiwis Count survey methodology changes mean that the next survey results will not be available until August 2012.

Note 2 - The Integrity and Conduct survey is conducted every three years, and next results are expected to be available in 2013.

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