I am pleased to introduce to you the 2008 update to the New Zealand equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (NZ IFRS) model financial statements for Councils.

Focus

The model financial statements have been updated to reflect current good practice and learnings from our review, and audit, of Councils' first NZ IFRS financial statements. The updates to the model are explained in 'About the model financial statements'.

The model financial statements have been prepared especially to help guide Councils in preparing NZ IFRS compliant financial statements. The financial statements included in this model (including certain disclosure requirements of the Local Government Act 2002) are only part of what is required to be included in a Council's annual report. The other legislative requirements for a Council's annual report are set out in Part 3, Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 2002.

Future updates

We will continue to update the model financial statements to reflect changes in NZ IFRS and evolving good practice in application of NZ IFRS to the local government sector.

We would welcome any feedback on the application of this model in the local government sector or any other comments that may assist in future updates of the model financial statements. If you have any feedback or comments on these model financial statements please pass these to your Audit New Zealand Manager or Director.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Audit New Zealand staff who have contributed to these model financial statements, particularly Brett Story, Stephen Lewis, and Robert Cox of our Technical Team.

Chong Lim
General Manager, Professional Practices
June 2008