Auditor general Caroline Spencer has delivered a strong rebuke to the local government sector for seeking to avoid audit oversight during COVID-19.
Ms Spencer, who was previously the managing partner of a Canberra-based advisory firm, said in the Office of the Auditor General's annual report that she had encountered countless examples of excellent governance by senior public sector leaders during March and April.
Most noteworthy had been the performance of health entities, the Office of State Revenue, the Departments of Treasury and Finance and some local government agencies.
But she said some agencies had sought to have their audits delayed or stopped.
"Outstanding leaders recognise that high levels of accountability and transparency, which are essential for trust in public institutions, are in the sharpest of focus now, at a time when the social contract between government and citizens, to make decisions and act in the public interest, is being tested in the extreme," she said.
"Conversely, it was concerning to receive a small number of requests to cease or substantially reduce our audit oversight for an extended period, including a representation on behalf of the entire local government sector. While such requests may be a tempting short-term management response, they are not feasible or in the best interests of the public sector or community overall."
Ms Spencer said public auditing had continued through the upheaval of world wars and depressions without the advantage of technology.
"Our auditors’ actions thus far, which have included stepping back in response to COVID-19, have gone much further than our normal approach of working with entities to consider their operational pressures in determining our audit timing and methodology so that audit impost is minimised wherever possible," she said.
The report revealed the Office of the Auditor-General had issued 111 audit opinions for local government entities during 2019-20, 86 per cent of which were issued before the required date of 31 December 2019.
"There were a variety of reasons for delays in audit completion, including staffing shortages or illness in some local government entities, problems with asset valuations, insufficient evidence to support the financial report, and numerous errors requiring correction. We will continue to help the sector to improve this result as we continue the roll-in schedule for the remaining local government entities," the report said.
