In last year's Portfolio Departments and Associated Entities: 2014–15 Audit Snapshot report to Parliament, we highlighted that the Department of Education & Training's (DET) financial reporting processes were poor.

We qualified the 2013–14 and 2014–15 financial statements of DET and its predecessor:

In this Part, we outline the audit opinions issued on the 2015–16 financial statements of the portfolio departments and associated entities. We also summarise the number of issues raised and reported to portfolio departments during the course of our audits. We make particular mention of how the alpine resorts have addressed significant issues previously reported.

This report presents the findings of the 2015–16 financial audits of the seven portfolio departments and the 207 associated entities that are not included in our other audit snapshot reports. In Appendix B, we detail the entities covered in this report.

All these entities report in accordance with the Australian Accounting Standards. The Financial Management Act 1994 and the Corporations Act 2001 are themost common reporting frameworks the entities use.

This report details the outcome of the financial audits of seven portfolio departments and 207 associated entities for the financial year ending 30 June 2016. We table separate sector-based reports on the financial audit outcomes for the water, local government, public hospital, tertiary education and university sectors.

Ordered to be published

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER November 2015

PP No 222, Session 2014–16 

Accountability

Responsibility of a public sector entity to achieve its objectives, with regard to reliability of financial reporting, effectiveness and efficiency of operations, compliance with applicable laws, and reporting to interested parties.

Acquisition

Establishing control of an asset, undertaking the risks and receiving the rights to future benefits, as would be conferred with ownership, in exchange for the cost of acquisition.

This Appendix details the design principles of a better-practice liquidity management framework, summarised in Figure B1.

Figure B1

Better-practice design principles for liquidity management

We have consulted with the named agencies and we considered their views when reaching our audit conclusions. As required by section 16A of the Audit Act 1994, we gave a draft copy of this report to the Treasurer and asked for his submissions or comments. As required by section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994, we gave relevant extracts of this report to named agencies and asked for their submissions or comments. Responsibility for the accuracy, fairness and balance of those comments rests solely with the agency head.

It is important that entities manage their liquidity by forecasting when they expect to receive revenue and incur expenditure, to ensure that they have funds available to meet these costs and commitments.

The Treasurer, through the Department of Treasury & Finance (DTF), is responsible for managing the liquidity of the State of Victoria. The Treasury Corporation of Victoria (TCV) helps to discharge this responsibility.