3 Annual Report Content
3.1 Statement of responsibility
Statutory requirement: Section 45C of the PFA
(1) The statement of responsibility must include:
(a) a statement of the responsibility of the department's chief executive for the preparation of the financial statements and statement of service performance, and for the judgements made in them; and
(b) a statement of the responsibility of the department's chief executive for establishing a system of internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance as to the integrity and reliability of financial reporting; and
(c) a statement that, in the opinion of the department's chief executive, the financial statements and statement of service performance fairly reflect the financial position and operations of the department for the reporting period.
(2) The statement of responsibility must be:
(a) signed by the department's chief executive, and
(b) countersigned by the department's chief financial officer.
The statement of responsibility accompanies the annual financial statements and statement of service performance. It is a more explicit and detailed statement of the chief executive's responsibility for information in the annual report - in this case the information to be audited by the Auditor-General. The importance of the assurance given is underlined by the requirement that the statement of responsibility be countersigned by the department's chief financial officer, or other person responsible for the quality of the information.
3.2 Audit report
The Auditor-General, or her appointed auditor, is required to provide an audit report for inclusion in the department's annual report. The legislative timetable for the audit is explained in the previous section. The Auditor-General will send you a copy of their report to be included.
