About this guidance
This guidance provides advice to boards, chief executives and staff of statutory Crown entities (Crown agents, autonomous Crown entities, and independent Crown entities) on preparing their annual reports[1]. Some sections of this guidance apply to organisations named in Schedule 4 of the PFA as these organisations have reporting requirements prescribed in the CEA.
The annual report is an important part of telling the Crown entity's performance story and provides a comparison against the entity's operating intentions, which were formally set out in the Crown entity's corresponding statement of intent.
This guidance sets out what is required of Crown entities in terms of content and process in accordance with the CEA, and provides discussion and explanation of the main provisions and any associated expectations.
Reference should also be made by Crown entities to:
- the Crown entity's establishing legislation, which may add to, or modify, the CEA requirements, and
- Subpart 1 of Part 5 of the Public Finance Act 1989 (PFA) for the first annual report for newly established Crown entities, the final annual report for disestablished Crown entities, and for annual reports where functions have been transferred to another entity.
This guidance should not be used as a substitute for reading the relevant legislation.
The guidance outlined in this document applies until this document is updated or replaced. It will be reviewed in light of amendments being made to the CEA.
The guidance has been developed by the Treasury. Treasury has also consulted with the SSC and the Office of the Auditor General. The Auditor-General is the auditor for all Crown entities, and appoints auditors to act on their behalf. The auditor is required to audit the annual financial statements and the statement of service performance in the annual report, and any other required or agreed information.
The table below provides information on which Government organisation can provide help to other types of Crown entities:
| Agencies not covered by this guidance | Who provides advice and outlines requirements for the annual report |
|---|---|
| Crown Research Institutes | Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment |
| Other Crown entity companies | Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit (COMU), the Treasury |
| School Boards of Trustees | Ministry of Education |
| Tertiary Education Institutions | Tertiary Education Commission |
Notes
- [1]Throughout this guidance, references to “Crown entity” should be read as applying to “statutory Crown entities” (as defined under section 7(1)(a) of the CEA); and references to the “board” of a Crown entity should be read as also applying to the sole member of a corporation sole.
