This report is our “annual report” on the audits for 2003-04 of the local government sector in the Auditor-General’s portfolio under the Public Audit Act 2001. Most of these audits are of regional and territorial local authorities and their subsidiary entities that were established under and governed principally by the former Local Government Act 1974 (the 1974 Act).
The Local Government Act 2002 (the 2002 Act) has replaced the 1974 Act. The 2002 Act has had a significant effect on the audits covered in this report. The full accountability effect of the 2002 Act will be in 2004-05 when all councils will, for the first time, be reporting against their Long-Term Community Council Plan (LTCCP), adopted in either 2003 or 2004.
Purpose
The purposes of this report are to:
- tell Parliament and the local government sector about matters arising from carrying out our role as auditor of the sector;
- describe examples of our expectations of “best practice” on various matters of financial management and reporting, governance, and administration; and
- describe the ongoing planned work we are doing in preparation for our expanded role under the 2002 Act.