Tisch Lindsay: Appointments — Deputy Controller and Auditor-General 
Tisch Lindsay: Appointments — Deputy Controller and Auditor-General 
[Volume:627;Page:21810] 
LINDSAY TISCH (National—Piako) 
: 
 I was fortunate to be on the committee that made the recommendation to the Officers of Parliament Committee for the appointment of Phillippa Smith. In doing so I just want to look at one of the big challenges the Audit Office has. We are moving through into a new era of financial reporting standards. We have seen the collapse of companies like Enron we have seen what happened to Arthur Andersen and if we look worldwide we see that auditing is becoming a very big part of the way we do business. So I think it appropriate just to outline the role that the Auditor-General plays because the newly appointed Deputy Auditor-General will be very much a part of the team. The role is important and I believe that it is important just to articulate some of the roles and challenges that the office will have as we look to it for scrutiny and for very robust and transparent reporting procedures in the way that entities are reported on. That gives us the confidence and the satisfaction of knowing that there is a watchdog agency that can go through and look very closely at what entities do. 
The Office of the Controller and Auditor-General known as the Auditor-General is a statutory office that exists as a constitutional safeguard to maintain the financial integrity of New Zealand’s parliamentary system of Government. As an Officer of Parliament the Auditor-General provides independent assurance both to Parliament and to the public that public entities are operating and accounting for their performance in accordance with Parliament’s intentions. That includes the effective and efficient use of the resources and powers conferred on them. The Auditor-General also provides independent assurance about local government as local authorities are accountable to the public for the activities they fund through locally raised revenue. 
But the Auditor-General has identified some concerns. If we look at the report of the Controller and Auditor-General we see them highlighted in appendix A but they are also stated in the statement of corporate intent in the draft annual plan. The new appointee will play a major part in addressing the key concerns expressed there. 
These are the challenges the Auditor-General’s office faces: “The Auditor-General’s key concerns are a reflection of his mandate”—when I refer to “his” I am talking about the office as a whole—“under the Public Audit Act 2001. His key concerns are: Performance: Have public entities undertaken activities in accordance with Parliament’s intentions in an effective and efficient manner? Authority: Have activities resourcing and accountability requirements been undertaken within the authority granted by Parliament? Waste: Have resources been obtained and applied in an economical manner?—that is taxpayers’ dollars not being wasted. Probity and financial prudence: Are entities meeting parliamentary and public expectations of an appropriate standard of behaviour in the public sector? Accountability: Have entities given full and accurate accounts of their activities and of their compliance with Parliament’s intentions through the annual reporting cycle? Are governance and management arrangements suitable to address the concerns identified above?”. 
So there are a number of issues that the Auditor-General and the team will be operating in. This is an important appointment that is being made. We look forward to the office being at the forefront of scrutiny and being able to deliver in an unbiased manner those things that the public and Parliament expect of such an important part of our parliamentary system. As an Officer of Parliament the Auditor-General plays a very important part.