Highlights
In March 2023, we published The Auditor-General’s strategic intentions to 2028, which sets out what we want to achieve and the outcomes we are working towards.
We have carried out work looking at the effectiveness of the current public accountability system and have published reports on how it can be improved.
We continued working on our te ao Māori strategy, and we established a Rōpū Māori to advise us as we carry out work to enhance our impact in te ao Māori.
Audit fees have not kept up with audit costs for some time. Costs have continued to rise in response to increased complexity, changing professional standards, and, more recently, high wage inflation reflecting labour shortages in the accounting and audit professions.
Covid-19 severely affected audit timeliness. Overall, 63% of audits were completed before the statutory deadlines in 2019/20 – compared to just over 80% before the pandemic.