The Auditor-General’s reports Governance of the National Security System and Assessing the performance of the Office of the Auditor-General against International Standards were presented to the House of Representatives today.

Governance of the National Security System

In this report, we look at the governance arrangements for responding to national security events, identifying and managing risks, and building national resilience. We examined two examples of how the National Security System responded to recent threats, including the threat to contaminate infant milk formula with 1080 poison (Operation Concord).

In our view, the governance arrangements for responding to national security events and emergencies are well established, fundamentally sound, and fit for purpose. The response to Operation Concord was an example of the National Security System working well. New Zealand’s security system has some of the characteristics of a world-class system.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is making further improvements to the National Security System. In our view, those further improvements are needed. The work under way to define national security risks is particularly important, and clearer and stronger accountabilities for risk management and reporting are needed.

We have made recommendations for DPMC to strengthen the resilience of the National Security System by enabling easier and more efficient information flows, capturing institutional knowledge, identifying and recording lessons learned, and introducing more methodical induction and training for people coming into the National Security System. DPMC has responded positively to our recommendations and has already talked to us about its plans to address them.

Watch a video about this report.

Assessing the performance of the Office of the Auditor-General against International Standards

The International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Working Group on the Value and Benefits of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) has developed a framework for SAIs to assess their own performance. The Supreme Audit Institution Performance Measurement Framework (the framework) has been piloted in recent years and is expected to be formally adopted at the INTOSAI Congress in December 2016. The framework is based on the International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions and other international good practice standards for public sector auditing. The framework assesses the quality of audit work and how a SAI is managed.

Our Office chose to pioneer application of the framework and release the results. Our goal is to be a model for others and demonstrate that we are prepared to practise the transparency and accountability we expect of the New Zealand public sector.

This report presents the overall results of our own assessment using the framework. We have published detailed findings and information about the methodology and the environment in which we work on our website. Both this and the detailed report have been peer reviewed by the INTOSAI Development Initiative. The assessment has identified strengths in the Office's operating environment, audit work, and management, as well as areas for further attention.

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