The Office of the Auditor-General has today published its commentary on how the public sector reports on its performance in Auckland.
Deputy Auditor-General, Andrew McConnell said that given Auckland’s significance, and the scale of the public services that central and local government organisations deliver there, his Office wanted to understand whether Aucklanders can see how much public money is being spent in the region, what it is being spent on, and what difference it makes.
The audit Office looked at the performance information of 50 public organisations that are based in or have a significant presence in Auckland.
“Overall, we found it difficult from publicly available information to get a complete picture of how public organisations in Auckland are performing. Most public organisations report on their activity at a national level but not at a local level,” said Mr McConnell.
He said that while the report focuses on Auckland, all communities would benefit from public organisations providing more information publicly on their performance at the local level.
“We identify opportunities that central and local government organisations can take to support better local reporting on Auckland.”
“This includes public organisations having a set of shared outcomes to collaborate on in Auckland, a clear overview of their key areas of work and investment, and regular reporting on what they spend and achieve with this spending.”
The Deputy Auditor-General said there were opportunities to learn from organisations that already provide good local performance reporting on Auckland.
“…And we include examples in this report. These examples highlight the use of accessible reporting frameworks and mechanisms that provide meaningful information about what they are doing in Auckland.”
“If done well, local performance reporting can enable Parliament and the public to have a better idea of the outcomes public organisations seek in Auckland and what differences they are making with the public money they invest there.
“In turn, this enables public organisations to better determine whether they are focusing their spending on the right areas and support ongoing efficiencies and performance improvements for the region’s benefit.”
He said the Office would continue to collect information to monitor improvements in performance and performance reporting in Auckland over time.
“We intend for this report to encourage all public organisations to support better local performance reporting of their work,” said Mr McConnell.
