By Paul Dicken
16 October 2009
The Wales Audit Office has established itself as an authoritative voice but is at a watershed as the public sector faces a ‘major drive’ for efficiency savings, an expert panel has said.
In the first peer review of its kind on a UK audit body, the WAO commissioned the panel to carry out an in-depth review of its work.
The panel, chaired by Audit Scotland deputy auditor general and former CIPFA president Caroline Gardner, praised the WAO for its financial audit work and for establishing the Good Practice Exchange to assist organisations.
In a report to auditor general for Wales Jeremy Colman, the panel said the watchdog’s cross-cutting reach put it in a unique position to help improve public services and value-for-money work.
Gardner said the fact that the WAO had commissioned the review and undertaken its own ‘robust self-assessment’ was a measure of its commitment to improvement.
The panel said the WAO should improve its workforce strategy and continue to make changes to programme management, communicating ‘clear processes to improve transparency in the allocation of work’.
It also needed to facilitate earlier identification of, and intervention in, cases of potential or imminent service failure. This should include a review of the annual audit letter to ensure the main messages were clear and accessible.
The report included options for changing the WAO’s governance arrangements to address concerns about who ‘guards the guardians’.
Responding to the findings, Colman said: ‘I wholeheartedly accept the recommendations and have already made some changes which will enable the organisation to build on its existing successes and move into the next stage of its development.’
16 October 2009
The Wales Audit Office has established itself as an authoritative voice but is at a watershed as the public sector faces a ‘major drive’ for efficiency savings, an expert panel has said.
In the first peer review of its kind on a UK audit body, the WAO commissioned the panel to carry out an in-depth review of its work.
The panel, chaired by Audit Scotland deputy auditor general and former CIPFA president Caroline Gardner, praised the WAO for its financial audit work and for establishing the Good Practice Exchange to assist organisations.
In a report to auditor general for Wales Jeremy Colman, the panel said the watchdog’s cross-cutting reach put it in a unique position to help improve public services and value-for-money work.
Gardner said the fact that the WAO had commissioned the review and undertaken its own ‘robust self-assessment’ was a measure of its commitment to improvement.
The panel said the WAO should improve its workforce strategy and continue to make changes to programme management, communicating ‘clear processes to improve transparency in the allocation of work’.
It also needed to facilitate earlier identification of, and intervention in, cases of potential or imminent service failure. This should include a review of the annual audit letter to ensure the main messages were clear and accessible.
The report included options for changing the WAO’s governance arrangements to address concerns about who ‘guards the guardians’.
Responding to the findings, Colman said: ‘I wholeheartedly accept the recommendations and have already made some changes which will enable the organisation to build on its existing successes and move into the next stage of its development.’
