Page 2916 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 August 1991
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General commented in his report that the time taken to complete these audits was of concern and that in some cases the delays had been caused by a lack of financial management and accounting ability in the authorities concerned.
The committee believes that the reasons offered for late unitary financial statements are not relevant to most of the special operations and authorities, given that they have operated as such entities prior to self-government. The lateness of many of the financial statements is, in fact, a greater concern because of that. The committee expects that audited financial statements for these entities will be available to the Assembly within six months of the end of the financial year. The committee notes that the financial year for the ACT Institute of TAFE is the calendar year, and that, as at 12 August, audited financial statements for 1990 have not yet been tabled.
The Auditor-General's report also referred to the provision and use of motor vehicles for officers of two authorities where those officers were not entitled to the benefit. The Casino Surveillance Authority took immediate remedial action when this was raised by the audit. However, the ACT Milk Authority, at the time of preparation of the Auditor-General's report, had not provided advice of remedial action. In the committee's view, the situation concerning the Milk Authority is of concern. The committee noted that employees of the Milk Authority are employed under the Milk Authority Act 1971 and not the Public Service Act, and that ministerial approval was required for the terms and conditions of employment. Because of this peculiarity, the committee recommends that:
the Chief Minister advises of the action taken in response to the Auditor-General's concerns regarding the use of vehicles by employees of the Milk Authority.
The committee will be examining the general issue of the use of vehicles in its review of the Auditor-General's Report No. 2, which dealt with the efficiency audit of the ACT Government Fleet.
The last issue that I raise is the audit report's reference to the absence of a formal agreement between Westpac Banking Corporation and the ACT Treasury concerning banking agreements. The Auditor-General expressed concern that a formal agreement had not been signed until 20 December 1990. The audit also noted that, at the time of preparation of its report, an agreement for the provision of the front office bill paying service had not been finalised, although services had been provided since 18 September 1989. The committee agrees with the Auditor-General on this matter and recommends that:
the Front Office Bill Paying Service Agreement be finalised as soon as possible.
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