Mr Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 5th Symposium of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), Jaipur, India

The objectives of this audit were to assess planning, management, conduct and staffing of internal audit in the Department of Defence, with a view to providing assurance as to the standard of its work. Opportunities were taken to identify specific policies and practices that would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of MAB audit. Fieldwork for the ANAO audit was performed between May and August 1995.

The objectives of this audit were to:

• provide assurance to the Parliament on the effectiveness of internal audit operations; and
• determine whether internal audit generally operates at, or near, recognised better practice.

The criteria used to measure internal audit effectiveness were based on four principles developed as part of the audit. These principles and criteria deal with the level of management support and authority; the use of a risk-focus to address client needs; the appropriate balance of skills and knowledge; and the use made of continuous improvement processes and measurement of performance effectiveness.

Welcome to the last edition of Audit Matters for 2025. I’ve provided some insights in this edition which may help you to focus on a few areas of audit interest in the new year.

Audit work, as you know, is ongoing. We’ll start tabling reports again in mid-late January 2026. Next year you’ll also see some shorter performance audit reports, as part of a trial we’re undertaking to bring reports to the Parliament more quickly. Thanks to those agencies who have worked with us as we trial this new approach. We’re also doing some important work on how we approach performance statements audits in the 21 entities subject to this process. Watch out for our summary report on performance statements early in 2026 — you can subscribe to be notified of release on our website.

I wish you and your teams a restful break over the holiday season after a big year in the public sector. I look forward to seeing you in 2026.

Rona Mellor PSM, Deputy Auditor-General

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the ANAO’s quarterly Audit Matters newsletter. The purpose of Audit Matters is to inform external audiences — primarily those working in Commonwealth entities — of updates on the ANAO’s work and provide insights on what we are seeing in the Australian Government sector.

Audit Matters complements the range of reports we table in the Parliament as well as our Insights products and events and seminars. I hope you find it useful and please forward it on to your colleagues, and encourage them to sign-up for future editions.

Carla Jago, Acting Deputy Auditor-General

The ANAO provided an article to the March 2023 edition of the PASAI newsletter on the development of a methodology for auditing ethics. The article was titled SAI Australia develops methodology for auditing ethics.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Audit Conference, Melbourne

Welcome to the third edition of the ANAO’s Audit Matters newsletter. The purpose of Audit Matters is to provide updates on the ANAO’s work and provide insights on what we are seeing in the Australian Government sector.

Audit Matters complements the range of reports we table in the Parliament as well as our insights products and events and seminars. I hope you find it useful and please forward it on to your colleagues, and encourage them to sign-up for future editions.

Rona Mellor PSM, Deputy Auditor-General

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) Audit Manual is issued under the authority of the Auditor-General and is comprised of four volumes. The four volumes (shared content, FSASG specific, PASG specific and PSASG specific) set ANAO policies and provide guidance applying to the audits and other assurance work performed by, or on behalf of, the Auditor-General, and consistent with ANAO Auditing Standards.

The manual complements the mandatory requirements of the ANAO Auditing Standards and relevant legislation. The manual is reviewed annually and is subject to the oversight of the ANAO Quality Committee.

This report addresses the role and responsibilities of audit committees in all Commonwealth public sector entities including departments and similar agencies, and commercial and non-commercial statutory authorities. A better practice model was developed, based primarily on a review of literature dealing with private and public sector governance models and the requirements of the proposed financial management legislation.