Australian National Audit Office
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to Parliament but is administratively located in the Portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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[edit] Role of the ANAO
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) supports the Auditor-General of Australia, who is an independent officer of the Parliament of Australia. The main functions and powers of the Auditor-General under the Auditor-General Act 1997 are: auditing financial statements of Commonwealth agencies, authorities, companies and their subsidiaries in accordance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997; and conducting performance audits which are tabled in Parliament.
[edit] The Auditor-General
The Auditor-General is appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister, for a term of 10 years.
The current Auditor-General is Ian McPhee, born 15 December 1951. Ian was appointed Auditor-General for the Commonwealth of Australia on 11 March 2005. His previous position outside the Australian National Audit Office was as a Deputy Secretary/General Manager in the Department of Finance and Deregulation. From January 2003 until his appointment as Auditor-General, Ian was Deputy Auditor-General.
Ian Mcphee was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2002 for outstanding public service to public sector accounting and auditing, and the development of industry accounting standards
[edit] History
The Audit Act 1901 was the fourth piece of legislation passed by the Parliament. The Audit Act provided a legislative basis for the financial management of Commonwealth finances and the audit of related accounts, it also provided a legal foundation for the appointment of an Auditor-General.[1] The first Auditor-General, John William Israel,[2] began establishing the Federal Audit Office in 1902 in Melbourne.[3] The office moved to Canberra in 1935, in line with Government policy at that time.
The Audit Act 1901 was amended in 1979 to provide producing performance audits ("efficiency audits") in 1979 to allow the Audit Office to undertake efficiency audits. Efficiency audit, or performance audit, concerns the efficiency and effectiveness of a particular government activity.
The Audit Act 1901 was replaced with the Auditor-General Act 1997, which came into effect on 1 January 1998. The main features of the new act included:
- provisions that strengthened the independence of the Auditor-General and the Australian National Audit Office);
- the strengthening of the Auditor-General's role as an external auditor of Commonwealth agencies, authorities, companies and their subsidiaries, including a comprehensive mandate to conduct, with some limited exceptions, financial statement and performance audits of all government entities; and
- clarification of the Auditor-General's mandate and powers.[4]
In 1986 the ANAO hosted XII INCOSAI, the twelfth triennial convention of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Report 419: Inquiry into the Auditor-General Act 1997, Canberra: Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, 2010, p. 1
- ^ History of the ANAO, Canberra: Australian National Audit Office, 2011, p. 1
- ^ Wanna, John and Ryan, Christine (2003), A Reactive Administrative Culture? The Legacy of Australia's first Auditor-General on the Australian Audit Office, Canberra: Australian Journal of Politics and History, p. 5
- ^ Report 386: Review of the Auditor-General Act 1997, Canberra: Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, 2001, p. 3
- ^ INTOSAI: 50 Years (1953-2003), Vienna: International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, 2004, p. 63
[edit] External links
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