Former journalist and senior compliance analyst at the Office of the Auditor General Carolyn Simmonds has been named the 2007 Public Sector Fellow of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University has announced.
Former journalist and senior compliance analyst at the Office of the Auditor General Carolyn Simmonds has been named the 2007 Public Sector Fellow of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University has announced.
The full text of an announcement from the University is pasted below
The 2007 Public Sector Fellow, to be hosted by the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy (JCIPP), is Carolyn Simmonds of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG).
The Fellowship Program provides people working in Western Australia in the Australian, Western Australian, or local government sectors with an opportunity to undertake a sponsored 13-week research placement at the JCIPP.
Ms Simmonds topic will be 'Making sense of whole-of-government financial reporting in Western Australia'.
She said she will analyse developments in the presentation of whole-of-government financial reporting in a number of jurisdictions, including Canada, the UK and Australia.
"I'll then use the findings to review the situation in the Western Australian public sector," Ms Simmonds said.
"The thesis I want to test is that the public sector can do a lot more to communicate effectively with the general public on government financial condition by adopting a number of simple financial indicators and non-technical language."
Ms Simmonds has been a Policy Officer at the OAG for several years and recently became a Senior Compliance Analyst, conducting performance examinations of public sector governance against various benchmarks including legislation, regulation and good practice.
She is a law graduate from the University of Western Australia and was admitted to practice in 1978 but became a journalist in the early 1980's. She then worked at 6IX where she became Australia's first female cricket commentator.
She then moved to the Sunday Independent before taking a position at The Australian, where she stayed for a decade, eventually specializing in finance reporting.
Professor John Phillimore, Director of the JCIPP, said he looked forward to the outcomes of Ms Simmonds' research.
"I anticipate Carolyn's research will benefit a number of stakeholders in the Western Australian public sector," Professor Phillimore said.
"This research will be useful to the OAG in delivering independent and impartial information on public sector accountability and performance, as well as the Legislative Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which is considering an examination of public sector financial reporting regimes from the point of view of their reader friendliness.
Ms Simmonds will start at Curtin later this month and said she is looking forward to the Fellowship experience.
"This is an opportunity to do research on a topic I consider of fundamental significance to maintaining a healthy relationship between the legislative and executive arms of government, and with the potential to provide the basis for greater participation by the general public in matters of public importance."
Fellows continue to be paid by their home organisation at their substantive salary for the duration of their award, and are located on a full-time basis at the JCIPP which provides academic supervision and research facilities.
The Program is jointly sponsored by the JCIPP, the Institute of Public Administration, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Australian Public Service Commission, the Department of Local Government and Regional Development; and the Local Government Managers Association (WA).
