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New Auditor General to ‘shake up’ Wales Audit Office governance
His recommendations for new governance arrangements are contained in a briefing paper. The new Auditor General – Huw Vaughan Thomas – intends to have the new arrangements fully in place by 1 April 2011.
Corporate governance is about how organisations are directed and controlled. Corporate governance arrangements are about doing the right things in the right way at the right time to achieve the organisation’s objectives in a transparent and accountable way, which minimises risk and maximises performance.
The Wales Audit Office’s own internal due diligence review, which is currently taking place, identified areas where improvements were needed for the Auditor General and Wales Audit Office to be able to demonstrate accountability, transparency and open management. Work is already taking place to address these issues and the new Auditor General’s proposals intend to take matters forward, further and quickly.
His proposals include:
- Establishing three new non-executive committees to exercise oversight of Resources (HR, IT and Finance), Remuneration, and Audit and Risk Management.
- At six monthly intervals, the Chairs of these three Committees will meet with the Auditor General and the Wales Audit Office Executive Committee to review planned, and actual, delivery for the previous six month period.
- Holding an annual governance conference to discuss future priorities and activities of the Wales Audit Office. These will be attended by all non-executive members, key stakeholders and experts from outside Wales who are unconnected with the bodies audited by the Wales Audit Office.
- Producing an annual governance report to be presented to the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee for consideration.
In order to carry out his role, the Auditor General for Wales must be unambiguously independent of political or other influence over what he audits and how he reports his findings. The new governance arrangements are designed to rigorously guard this independence, while ensuring that both the Auditor General and Wales Audit Office are properly accountable for their audit work they undertake and the public money they spend.
Auditor General for Wales, Huw Vaughan Thomas, said:
“Governance arrangements at the Wales Audit Office are currently flawed and lack the necessary checks and balances that should exist in well-run private or public sector organisations. That’s why an urgent shake up is needed. Over the next seven months I will be introducing big changes that will make the Wales Audit Office more transparent, accountable and open.”
Notes to Editors:
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Huw Vaughan Thomas took up post as Auditor General for Wales on 1 October 2010.
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More information on the role of the Auditor General can also be found on our website - http://www.wao.gov.uk/whoweare/theauditorgeneralforwales.asp
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The Wales Audit Office is independent of government and is responsible for the annual audit of some £20 billion of annual public expenditure.
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For more information on the role of the Auditor General for Wales please visit the Wales Audit Office’s website at http://www.wao.gov.uk/whoweare/theauditorgeneralforwales.asp
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The Wales Audit Office mission is to promote improvement, so that people in Wales benefit from accountable, well-managed public services that offer the best possible value for money. It is also committed to identifying and spreading good practice across the Welsh public sector.
