The objectives for the audit were to examine Commonwealth guarantees, indemnities and letters of comfort in relation to:

• the potential size of the Commonwealth's exposure to these instruments;
• the extent to which the overall exposures of the Commonwealth are managed and monitored;
• the adequacy of administrative reporting arrangements;
• areas of better administrative practice relating to their management; and
• to raise agencies' awareness of appropriate risk management and accountability practices in relation to these instruments.

The audit set out to quantify the Commonwealth's exposure to guarantees, indemnities and letters of comfort.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, address presented at the Australian National University

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Global Working Group Meeting, Wellington, New Zealand

The audit reviewed the Australian Customs Service (Customs) fraud control arrangements. The audit objective was to assess whether Customs has implemented appropriate fraud control arrangements consistent with the Commonwealth's Fraud Control Guidelines and the administrative effectiveness of these arrangements.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at a Seminar on 'Financial Management and Electronic Government' Kuala Lumpur

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to COMNET - Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Commonwealth Auditors-General Conference, Wellington, New Zealand

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2011. It includes a foreword by the Auditor-General, an overview including the role and vision of the Office, a report on performance, details about management and accountability, and the financial results.

The ANAO reviewed arrangements for the development of the department's fraud policy, fraud risk assessment and fraud control plan within the core functional areas of the department that are responsible for these activities. The audit also examined the operational procedures and guidelines that were in place to implement the departments' fraud policy. The objective of the audit was to assess whether DVA has implemented appropriate fraud control arrangements in line with the Fraud Control Policy of the Commonwealth and whether these arrangements operate effectively in practice.

The Department of Defence spends some $2.4 billion a year on major equipment acquisition projects. The audit objective was to assess Defence's arrangements for higher-level management of major equipment acquisition projects. The principal aim was to formulate practical recommendations that would both enhance Defence's management of major acquisition projects and provide a degree of assurance about its ongoing apparent capacity to do so efficiently and effectively.