A report from the Auditor-General detailing the audit outcomes of 286 State-controlled entities which were granted reporting relief last year due to COVID-19 has been released.
Auditor-General Andrew Greaves said that last year, in response to the challenges of the pandemic, his Office joined a working group which included representatives from the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) and Premier and Cabinet (DPC) to address issues relating to the preparation of Public Sector Entities’ financial reports.
“The result was a staged approach to financial reporting and audit timelines, with the Assistant Treasurer providing non-material Government Entities with reporting relief,” Mr Greaves said.
“This report details the audit outcomes of the 286 State-controlled Entities that were granted that relief,” he said.
Mr Greaves said the financial reports of four of the five Victorian Rail Track (VicTrack) subsidiary entities were assessed as not reliable and his Office provided adverse opinions on them.
He said unmodified audit opinions were issued on 280 Victorian Public Sector Entities, and a further two opinions remained outstanding, for Central Highlands Rural Health and the Yorta Yorta Traditional Owner Land Management Board.
“For 2019–20, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the preparation and production of financial reports in the Public Sector,” he said.
“The need for Agencies to divert resources to respond to the pandemic—combined with the challenges posed by restrictions on movement and access to workplaces, and flexible and remote learning arrangements—affected everyone’s capacity to achieve annual financial reporting and audit timelines.”
Mr Greaves said that for the 2019-2020 financial year, only 100 of 286 Entities (35 per cent) met the original 12-week financial reporting timelines; the comparable figure for 2018–2019 was 228 of 285 (80 per cent).
The Auditor-General’s 27-page report, Results of 2019–20 Audits: State-controlled Entities, can be accessed at this PS News link.
