2015 information updates for central government entities

Over 400 representatives from government departments and Crown entities recently attended our annual Central Government Updates in Wellington.

Much of the focus of the event was on the future. Our Executive Director, Stephen Walker, started both days with four questions for participants to consider. These questions were centred around organisations’ preparation for the future in areas such as: support structures, capability, capacity, and understanding their risk picture.

Stephen Walker's presentation
(PDF, 2 pages, 11kB)
Stephen Walker
Donna Purdue from Treasury spoke next. Donna covered the current economic context.

Donna Purdue's presentation
(PDF, 13 pages, 126kB)
Donna Purdue
Followed by Paul Helm on Thursday and Kritesh Velji on Friday. They explained how Treasury’s focus on strategic financial management contributes to fulfilling the Ministry’s vision of higher living standards for New Zealanders.

Paul Helm's presentation
(PDF, 9 pages, 629kB)
Paul Helm
Glenn Phillips from the Department of Corrections talked about their long-term capital planning process, and how this was helping the Department achieve its goals in a constantly changing environment. Some of the challenges involved ensuring they had fit-for-purpose facilities that supported public safety and reduced reoffending.

Glenn Phillip's presentation
(PDF, 14 pages, 902kB)
Glenn Phillips
Audit New Zealand’s  Director Technical, Stephen Lewis gave a succinct overview of the new accounting standards framework and the effect of the changes.

Stephen Lewis's presentation
(PDF, 6 pages, 130kB)
Stephen Lewis
Auditor-General, Lyn Provost provided an overview of the Office’s themed work programme, particularly its work on service delivery and governance and accountability. She also summarised the recent Global Audit Leadership Forum, which was hosted by the Office and focused on what the Public Auditor might look like in 2030.

Lyn Provost's presentation
(PDF, 8 pages, 3224kB)
Lyn Provost
Drivers for change over the coming years were further explored by Deloitte’s James Clarke, on Thursday and Val Wheeler on Friday. They covered such areas as sustainability, technology, and demographics. His talk was based on Deloitte’s Gov2020 report, which discusses how these drivers will affect the public sector and what the sector can do to embrace the future.

Gov2020 presentation
(PDF, 27 pages, 611kB)
James Clarke
Director, Audit Services, Martin Richardson spoke about the new approaches Audit New Zealand has been taking in identifying inherent and control risks in auditing. This included how data can be used to match entities that have good elements of control with similar entities that could use support in these areas.

Martin Richardson's presentation
(PDF, 21 pages, 62kB)
Martin Richardson
Assistant Auditor-General, Performance Audit Group, Mike Scott then spoke about the Office of the Auditor-General’s service delivery overview, which is due about the end of May. Drawing on lessons from the Office’s audit work over the past year, this report will note widespread recognition that the public sector must change and adapt if it is to continue providing good services to New Zealanders in the future.

Mike Scott's presentation
(PDF, 6 pages, 83kB)
Mike Scott
Finally, Audit New Zealand’s Stephen Lewis and Brett Story gave a well-received technical update on the new Public Benefit Entity accounting standards and the transition process. This included detailing potential changes and the impacts for each sector.

Stephen Lewis and Brett Story''s presentation

(PDF, 85 pages, 405kB)
Brett Story

 

 

Page last updated: 8 May 2015