Report of operations (s.48) Section 48, FMA — Report of operations s.48 A Report of Operations referred to in section 45 of the FMA must: (a) be in a form and contain information determined by the accountable officer to be appropriate (b) contain any other information required by the Minister for Finance. Financial Statements (s.49) Section 49 FMA — Financial Statements s.49 The Financial Statements referred to in s.45 of the FMA must: (a) contain such information as is required by the Minister for Finance (b) be prepared in a manner and form approved by the Minister for Finance (c) present fairly the financial transactions of the public body during the financial year to which they relate (d) present fairly the financial position of the public body as at the end of that year (e) be certified by the accountable officer for the public body in the manner approved by the Minister for Finance. Financial Management and Constitution Acts Amendment Bill 2017 A Bill to amend the FMA – and the Constitution Act 1975 - is currently being debated in Parliament. The amendments are now expected to take effect from 1 July 2020. DTF states that the proposed amendments will have “significant impacts on existing accounting, financial and budget policies”. Amendments that are relevant to DELWP entities and this guide include: changes to definitions relevant to annual reporting (e.g. ‘reporting period’ etc); strengthening and clarifying accountability, by transferring provisions from the Standing Directions to the FMA; and a new definition of a ‘public body’ to replace the current definition in the FMA. Most DELWP entities will not be affected by the amendment to the ‘public body’ definition. The only exception is a DELWP entity that has a subsidiary that is a Corporations Act companies. If the Bill is enacted ‘as is’, then these Corporations Act companies will be deemed to be ‘public bodies’ for the purposes of the FMA. For further details, please refer to the Bill and the Explanatory Memorandum, which are available from the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website. A brief description of the amendments are also described in DTF’s Accounting Policy update newsletter, for July 2018. Standing Directions The Standing Directions (SDs) issued by the Minister for Finance in 2016 under section 8 of the FMA have legislative force and must be complied with. The are also mandatory. DTF has also issued Guidance supporting the Standing Directions, which is not mandatory and for reference only.
ICT expenditure FRD 22H same 12.4 Major contracts FRD 12B same 12.5 Freedom of Information FRD 22H same 12.6 Building Act 1993 FRD 22H same 12.7 Competitive Neutrality Policy FRD 22H same 12.8 Protected Disclosure Act 2013 PD Act; FRD 22H same 12.9 n/a n/a Carers Recognition Act 2012 n/a Disability Act 2006 Disability Act same 12.10 Compliance with Establishing Act Establishing Act*, MRO Compliance with Technology Act 12.11 Office-based environmental impacts FRD 24C same 12.12 Additional information available on request FRD 22H same 12.14 DataVic Access Policy MRO same 12.13 Financial management compliance attestation SD 5.1.2 same Ch. 13 Responsible Body declaration [SD 5.2.3] The first item in the Report of Operations is the responsible body declaration. Requirement 5.2.3 Declaration in Report of Operations For a public body, the Report of Operations must be signed and dated by the responsible body or a member of the responsible body. Who is required to make this declaration? This declaration is made by the responsible body – or a member of the responsible body (SD 5.2.3). Most DELWP agencies are governed by a board, which will generally be the responsible body. In practice, it is a member of the responsible body - usually the Chair - that makes this declaration, on behalf of the board. For an entity that is not governed by a board, this declaration is made by the accountable officer, who is the responsible body. What must be declared? This declaration formally presents the report in accordance with requirements in the Financial Management Act 1994. The wording that should be used is set out in the example below. SD 5.2.3 requires the responsible body to sign and date the report of operations. A reproduction of the signature is required. This declaration should not be combined with the Chairman’s report.
Five-year financial summary FRD 22H requires your agency’s financial results for this reporting year AND the previous four years (i.e. five in total) to be provided in a summary format in its Report of Operations. Example disclosure (minimum) Five-Year Financial Summary Notes: [include notes to explain any inclusions/exclusions etc.] It is recommended that a table containing the major classes of revenue, expenditure, assets and liabilities with the total for each category be provided. Current year financial review Your agency must summarise its financial results in its Report of Operations. This section should contain a discussion and analysis of your agency’s operating results and financial position. This section of an agency’s Report of Operations complements the information presented in the Financial Statements ‘by providing explanation and analysis of the agency’s performance, financial position and cash flow through an objective and balanced discussion and analysis’. It is not optional. Your agency’s discussion of its financial results should be: comprehensive adopt a narrative form written in a clear style be supported by figures and graphics that assist understanding of the matters discussed”.