Part B - Volumes I, II and III of the Report of the Auditor-General contains the financial statements of, and comments concerning, the operations of those public sector agencies that I am required by law to audit and that are defined by the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 as ‘public authorities’. Where appropriate, graphs and tables have been used to illustrate selected information.
Consistent with last year, Audit comment and the financial statements of agencies, are presented on a ministerial portfolio responsibility basis.
In preparing this Report every effort is made to ensure that only matters which are relevant, appropriate and timely are included. Subsection 36(2) of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 provides the Auditor-General with a discretionary power to choose which agencies are excluded from this Report.
The following factors are taken into consideration in determining which agencies are to be included in this Report:
materiality of financial operations;
materiality of any impact on the public finances;
consolidation of the financial operations in the Parent Entity’s Financial Statements included in this Report;
timeliness of information;
materiality of issues arising from the audit;
public interest.
A number of the agencies excluded from the Report are required to prepare an annual report in accordance with the requirements of the Public Sector Management Act 1995. In addition, Treasurer’s Instruction 19 requires that each Chief Executive Officer must ensure that the annual report which is required to be submitted to the responsible Minister in accordance with the Public Sector Management Act 1995 and Regulations or other legislation includes the general purpose financial statements in the form in which they were presented to the Auditor-General, together with a copy of the report of the Auditor-General on the statements.
There are also agencies whose financial statements have not been finalised or the audit has not been completed in time for inclusion in this Report. The financial statements for, and commentary on the operations of, the following agencies will be included in a Supplementary Report to be presented to Parliament later in this financial year.
Country Fire Service Board
Emergency Services Administrative Unit
Police Superannuation Scheme
River Murray Catchment Water Management Board
South Australian Asset Management Corporation
South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service
The Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 requires that the accounts of the Auditor-General’s Department be audited by an auditor appointed by the Governor. The audit for the financial year ended 30 June 2000 was conducted by Pannell Kerr Forster, Chartered Accountants, who have issued an unqualified Independent Audit Report.
The expression of an opinion on an organisation’s annual financial statements by an independent professional auditor adds credibility to those statements and ensures that an appropriate level of financial disclosure has been exercised.
For those agencies that I am required to audit, I issue an Independent Audit Report on the financial statements in accordance with professional requirements and standards. The opinion expressed in that Report is usually unqualified but, where, in my opinion, circumstances so warrant, a qualified opinion is expressed. In extreme cases it may be necessary to decline to express an opinion.
In all cases where a qualified opinion (or no opinion) is given, full reasons are stated in the Independent Audit Report that is issued.
For the financial year ended 30 June 2000 qualified opinions were expressed on the financial statements of the following agencies:
Administrative and Information Services — Department for
Education, Training and Employment — Department of
Environment and Heritage - Department for
Justice Information System Services
South Australian Motor Sport Board
South East Catchment Water Management Board
Water Resources — Department for
Subsection 36(1)(a)(iii) of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 requires the Auditor-General to advise Parliament whether in his opinion the controls exercised by the Treasurer and by public authorities in relation to the receipt, expenditure and investment of money, the acquisition and disposal of property and the incurring of liabilities is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that the financial transactions of the Treasurer and public authorities have been conducted properly and in accordance with law.
In accordance with that requirement a Controls Opinion has been expressed for each agency.
Matters which have arisen from the audit of agencies during this financial year are commented on in Volumes I, II and III of Part B of this Report. Those issues that are regarded as either serious in nature or of public interest importance are listed separately under the heading ‘References to Matters of Significance’ immediately after the Table of Contents in each Volume.