Northern Territory Auditor-General's Office, February 2023 Report to the Legislative Assembly
Tabled Paper 772
Tabled Papers for 14th Assembly 2020 -; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
2023-02-14
Tabled by the Speaker
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
English
Tabled papers
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
application/pdf
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/898837
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/898851
Auditor-General for the Northern Territory February 2023 Report Page 6 of 131 Auditor-Generals Overview Summary of this report This report outlines the results of 11 separate audits and other tasks completed during the period 1 November 2022 to 27 January 2023. This report summarises the results of the following types of audits and legislated tasks conducted during the period: Statutory audits of financial statements; Controls and compliance audits; Performance management systems audits; Information technology reviews; and Data analysis. Significantly, this report provides commentary in relation to the audit of the Treasurers Annual Financial Statements (TAFS). Delays in the finalisation of the TAFS prevented inclusion of the content in my November 2022 Report to the Legislative Assembly. Section 15 of the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act 2001 requires that the Treasurer must publicly release and table a final fiscal results report for each financial year no later than 4 months after the end of the financial year. Section 15 of the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act 2001 has not been complied with. Whilst the TAFS were largely complete prior to 31 October 2022 and most of the audit work also completed by that time, late adjustments as a result of material errors in the valuation of remote housing assets impacted the finalisation of the financial statements and the conclusion of the audit. Australian Accounting Standards require reporting entities to estimate the value of assets recorded within the financial statements using relevant assumptions and asset data. Inaccurate data and erroneous assumptions can result in material financial misstatements. The misstatement of reported asset values was not limited to remote housing or the year ended 30 June 2022. Comparative information for the year ended 30 June 2021 required restatement to reflect the correction of material errors, each relating to the misstatement of asset values. A number of errors resulted from more than one agency accounting for the same asset, duplication of assets or the failure to recognise assets. This highlights the need for more robust accounting for assets and indicates further guidance is needed. It also emphasises that the recognition and valuation of assets presents a higher than normal audit risk which will influence the 2022-23 and 2023-24 audit programs. This report presents the results from the end of year review at the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities. The results from end of year reviews for all other NTG agencies were reported in my November 2022 report. These reviews are undertaken in accordance with section 13 of the Audit Act 1995 and provide assurance over financial data consolidated into the TAFS. The majority of the content in this report constitutes the audit observations and recommendations from 4 performance management systems audits designed to test the adequacy of performance management systems within agencies related to the: Darwin City Deal; Local Jobs Fund; Modular Housing; and Youth Justice Facility.