The Office of the Auditor-General was established in 1901 through the Audit Act 1901. The Act provides for the appointment, powers and responsibilities of the Auditor-General and establishes the legal framework for :-
Since 1901 the Audit Act has undergone many changes to reflect the changes in the role and functions of the Auditor-General.
The statutory functions of the Office of the Auditor-General are set out in the Audit Act and other Commonwealth legislation. The role, which is expressed in the goals of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), is to improve the economy, efficiency and accountability of the Commonwealth Public Sector through auditing and reporting on those audits.
The Auditor-General is responsible for the audit of Commonwealth departments, departmental commercial undertakings, statutory authorities and almost all Commonwealth owned or controlled companies. The principal independent assurance provided to the Parliament on the actions of the administration is provided by the Auditor-General.
The ANAO is a centralised organisation with its Head Office located in Canberra (the Capital of Australia) and regional offices in the States of New South Wales and Victoria and in London. The ANAO also has representation in the States of Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
The ANAO has two business units which concentrate on the delivery of the two core products of the organisation, namely financial statement audits and performance audits. The ANAO structure is supported by a mix of audit and corporate staff totaling approximately 315. Commercial and specialist skills are engaged to complement those of ANAO staff where required.
The objectives of financial statement audit are to provide independent assurance to the Parliament, the Executive Government, Boards, management and the public on the financial statements of Commonwealth public sector entities by:
The purpose of the financial statement auditing is to:
The ANAO uses a risk based approach to the planning of financial statement audits. This involves an assessment of what constitutes reasonable assurance in relation to the audit opinion, then programming testing and other procedures which will provide sufficient, relevant and reliable evidence to support the audit opinion. The procedures include testing for compliance with internal controls, substantive testing to obtain direct evidence in relation to the detection of possible monetary error in transactions, and analytical review of financial information and related operation statistics.
The objective of performance audit is to provide independent assurance and evaluation to the Parliament, Executive Government, Boards, management and to the community on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of administration of Commonwealth public sector entities by:
Performance audits are an independent, objective and systematic examination of the management of an organisation, programme of function for the purposes of:
- whether the organisation, programme or function is being managed in an economical, efficient and effective manner.
- the adequacy of internal procedures for promoting and monitoring economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, and
A performance audit may include a review of the use of human and financial resources information systems, performance measures and monitoring arrangements, and procedures followed for remedying identified weaknesses.
The ANAO has implemented quality control systems designed to allow the Auditor-General to discharge his legislative responsibilities and to ensure that work is in line with the ANAO's Auditing Standards and the ANAO's legal and professional obligations. The ANAO Quality Assurance Review Programme is a programme of independent reviews of activities, undertaken within the ANAO, which assess the quality of work performed by the ANAO. The results of the programme are reported to the Auditor-General at least annually.
The ANAO is a member of the Governing Board of INTOSAI assisting in strengthening relations among Supreme Audit Institutions worldwide. The Auditor-General is the Chairman of INTOSAI's Auditing Standards Committee and in this capacity has an ongoing role in maintaining the published INTOSAI Auditing Standards. ANAO staff have contributed presentations to various workshops and seminars sponsored by the ASOSAI.
As part of its association and responsibility with organisations such as INTOSAI and ASOSAI, the ANAO is involved in numerous activities with international auditing bodies.