STATE ELECTORAL OFFICE
FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND STRUCTURE
Establishment
The
Electoral Commissioner is appointed by the Governor under the provisions of the
Electoral Act 1985. The State Electoral Office (the Office) is
the Administrative Unit which has been established to assist the Electoral
Commissioner to discharge his/her statutory duties.
Functions
The
functions of the State Electoral Office are as follows:
·
To
administer all South Australian parliamentary electoral events.
·
To
conduct elections for all Local Government Authorities and other organisations.
·
To
provide assistance in the formulation of appropriate election rules and
procedures.
·
To
provide electoral rolls for local government elections and industrial ballots.
·
To
encourage community participation and promote an awareness of electoral
matters.
·
To
provide support for parliamentary and council boundary reviews.
Structure
The
structure of the State Electoral Office is illustrated in the following organisation
chart.
The
operations of the State Electoral Office are funded by annual appropriation
from Treasury on behalf of the Treasurer as authorised by Parliament. The funding is provided to conduct Parliamentary elections. Costs for Local Government and non-government elections
are recouped from councils or the organisation for which electoral services are
provided.
AUDIT MANDATE AND COVERAGE
Audit Authority
Audit of the
Financial Report
Subsection
31(1)(b) of the Public
Finance and Audit Act 1987 provides for the Auditor-General to audit the
accounts of the State Electoral Office for each financial year.
Assessment of
Controls
Subsection
36(1)(a)(iii) of the Public Finance and
Audit Act 1987 provides for the Auditor-General to assess the controls
exercised by the State Electoral Office in relation to the receipt, expenditure
and investment of money, the acquisition and disposal of property and the
incurring of liabilities.
This
assessment also considers whether those controls are consistent with the
prescribed elements of the Financial Management Framework as required by
Treasurer’s Instruction 2 Financial
Management Policies.
Scope of Audit
The audit
program covered major financial systems and was directed primarily to obtaining
sufficient evidence to enable an audit opinion to be formed with respect to the
financial statements and internal controls.
During
2005-06, specific areas of audit attention included:
·
Financial
Management Framework
·
Payroll
·
Accounts
payable
·
Revenue
·
Financial
accounting
·
Budgetary
control
·
Fixed
assets
·
State
Election
AUDIT FINDINGS AND COMMENTS
Audit Opinions
Audit of the Financial
Report
In my
opinion, the financial report presents fairly in accordance with the
Treasurer’s Instructions promulgated under the provisions of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987, applicable
Accounting Standards and other mandatory professional reporting requirements in
Australia, the financial position of the State Electoral Office as at 30 June
2006, the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended.
Assessment of
Controls
In my
opinion, the controls exercised by the State Electoral Office in relation to
the receipt, expenditure and investment of money, the acquisition and disposal
of property and the incurring of liabilities, are sufficient to provide
reasonable assurance that the financial transactions of the State Electoral
Office have been conducted properly and in accordance with law.
Audit Communications to Management
Matters
arising during the course of the audit were detailed in a management letter to
the Electoral Commissioner. The response
to the management letter was considered to be satisfactory. Matters concerning the Financial Management
Framework were raised with the State Electoral Office and the related responses
are considered herein.
Strategic Plan
The audit
revealed that there was no formal periodic review process to determine the
achievement of each objective of the Strategic Plan 2004-07. Audit recommended the Office develop a
monitoring and reporting cycle to ensure strategies are being followed,
measures have been met and outcomes reported to senior management.
The Office
indicated its intention to establish a committee of senior staff to
periodically review the status of the strategic plan and report to the
Electoral Commissioner on a quarterly basis.
Risk Management
Framework
In
relation to risk management Audit noted that:
·
a risk management plan covering the Office’s
operations had been completed. It was
noted that the monitoring and reviewing of the ‘Risk Management Assessment -
Ongoing Office Operations’ was performed on an ad hoc basis;
·
work had not yet commenced in relation to the
review and update of the risk management plan in relation to Local Government
elections to be held in November 2006.
The work was to be completed by 30 June 2006.
In
response, the Office indicated that:
·
a
Risk Management Committee would be set up to review the Office’s ongoing
operations risk strategies;
·
the review and update of the risk management plan
for the Local Government Elections in 2006 had commenced and it was anticipated
it would be finalised by mid August 2006.
INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL REPORT
Highlights of Financial Report
|
|
2006 |
2005 |
Percentage |
|
|
$’million |
$’million |
Change |
|
OPERATING EXPENDITURE |
|
|
|
|
Employment expenses |
5.4 |
1.3 |
n/a |
|
Other |
5.4 |
1.9 |
n/a |
|
Total Operating
Expenses |
10.8 |
3.2 |
n/a |
|
OPERATING REVENUE |
|
|
|
|
Revenues from SA Government |
10.1 |
2.2 |
n/a |
|
Other |
0.8 |
0.7 |
14.3 |
|
Total Operating
Revenue |
10.9 |
2.9 |
n/a |
|
Net Result from
Ordinary Activities |
0.1 |
* (0.5) |
n/a |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ASSETS |
|
|
|
|
Current assets |
1.3 |
1.1 |
18.2 |
|
Non-current assets |
0.3 |
0.2 |
50.0 |
|
Total Assets |
1.6 |
1.3 |
23.1 |
|
LIABILITIES |
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities |
0.6 |
0.5 |
20.0 |
|
Non-current liabilities |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
|
Total Liabilities |
0.9 |
0.8 |
12.5 |
|
EQUITY |
0.7 |
0.5 |
40.0 |
* Includes
payment to Government $184 000.
The level of financial operations of the State Electoral Office are
affected by the timing of the State Government elections and to a much lesser
extent the timing of the Local Government elections. A State Government election was held in
2005-06, with the last Local Government elections being held in 2002-03.
The
analysis of the financial operations and financial position of the State
Electoral Office concentrate on the 2005-06 year.
Income Statement
Operating Expenses
The total
expenses for the current year increased significantly due to the State
Government election held during the 2005-06 year. The
last State Government election was held in 2001-02. The increase in other expenses from 2004-05 to
2005-06 was due mainly to the increase in advertising of $1 162 000, ballot
papers of $465 000, printing of $367 000 and communications and information
technology of $602 000, all due to the State Government election.
Balance Sheet
For the five years to 2006 a structural
analysis of assets and liabilities is shown in the following chart.
The
Balance Sheet and the composition of assets and liabilities of the Office is again reflective of the timing of both State and Local
Government elections. Assets for the
2005-06 year increased by $230 000. The increase was
due primarily to an increase in receivables of $264 000 outstanding from the
State Government election. There was also an increase
in liabilities of $125 000. This was due primarily to
an increase in employee benefits of $90 000 and an increase in payables of $37
000 also due to the State Government election.
Programs
The State
Electoral Office operations are related to two programs (as described in Note 5
of the Financial Report) Parliamentary Electoral Services and Non-Parliamentary
Electoral Services. In 2005-06 program
revenues and expenses for Parliamentary Electoral Services had substantially
increased due to the State Government Election, where as Non-Parliamentary
Electoral Services had slightly decreased.