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Management of the office
Support from PM&C and DSD
349. As a very small agency, the office relies on the assistance of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) in handling staff and other administration issues and in providing general support. This support is provided on the basis that we are a portfolio agency and collocated with PM&C. The arrangement works well and I am grateful to PM&C for their continued support.
350. The other major provider of support is DSD which maintains the secure computer network system within the office. I would like to record my thanks for DSD's continued assistance.
Outcomes and outputs
351. The office is committed to maintaining the outcome for the office which is to create an environment in which Australia's intelligence agencies act legally, ethically and with propriety.
352. The agency outcomes and outputs are an integral part of the accrual budgetary structure and are outlined in detail in the current portfolio budget statements.
Staffing and resources
353. Staffing in the office was stable during the reporting period, as is reflected in the section, below, which deals with the composition of the office.
354. The staffing budget has remained static now for several years. I believe resources at this level are adequate to meet my responsibilities providing workload demands remain at normal levels.
Composition of the office
355. During 2000-01, positions in OIGIS were filled as follows:
- Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Mr Bill Blick PSM - Assistant Inspector-General
Vacant - Principal Investigation Officer
Mr Neville Bryan - Senior Investigation Officer
Ms Jane Trevor - Personal Assistant to the Inspector-General
Ms Sandy Thomas - Administrative Assistant/Office Manager
Ms Robyn Kelly
Performance pay
356. No staff members were allocated performance-based pay during the 2000-01 reporting period.
Workplace agreements
357. The Workplace Relations Act 1996 established a framework in which agencies are required to directly negotiate agreements on pay and conditions matters with their staff.
358. All staff have entered into individual Australian Workplace Agreements.
Industrial democracy
359. The small size of the office lends itself to a collegiate approach to dealing with workplace issues. Whole of agency meetings are held frequently and all staff have direct access to me on a daily basis.
Social justice: Access and equity
360. The Inspector-General oversees the activities of Australia's intelligence community to ensure that each agency acts legally, with propriety, and with appropriate regard to human rights. Respect for these fundamental principles fosters an awareness and appreciation of social justice issues.
Workplace diversity
361. All agencies are responsible for developing a workplace diversity plan and reporting progress on workplace diversity issues to the Public Service Commissioner.
362. Given the small size of the office, we have adopted PM&C's workplace diversity plan.
Occupational health and safety
363. The office is covered by the PM&C occupational health and safety plan. No incidents occurred during 2000-01 that needed to be reported.
Disaster recovery/business continuity plan
364. The office developed its own disaster recovery/business continuity plan in May 1997 to ensure the continued operation of the office in the event of a disaster. This plan is reviewed periodically to ensure its currency.
Communications strategy
365. The office has an internet homepage, which is located at http://www.igis.gov.au.
366. The site features general information about the role and functions of the office, an archive of our annual reports, statements of public interest, links to relevant legislation, and links to other government sites of interest. The site is updated when necessary.
367. People may also communicate with us by electronic mail. The address is info@igis.gov.au.
Fraud control
368. The office has adopted the fraud control plan of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Training and development
369. During the year staff attended several courses or information sessions on such diverse subjects as accrual accounting, computer software, intelligence, risk management and emergency procedures.
Internal and external scrutiny
370. The office continues to meet all requirements for internal and external scrutiny of its finances and administration.
371. The office has again received an unqualified audit report from the Australian National Audit Office in relation to its financial statements.
372. During the year, I appeared before the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, which considered the office's estimates and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
Consultancy services
373. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu provided assistance with the preparation of the financial statements in last year's annual report, at a cost of $5,500.
374. A consultant, Mr Anthony Blunn AO completed the inquiry he was engaged to conduct on behalf of the Inspector-General in March 2000. He was paid $15,120 for these services during the reporting period.
Advertising and market research
375. The office incurred no expenditure on general advertising or advertising campaigns during the reporting period.
376. The office was part of a cluster formed by the portfolio agencies to evaluate e-procurement options and feasibility.
Freedom of information
377. This office is an exempt agency for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Financial statements
378. Typically, financial statements in annual reports are to say the least indigestible. In April this year I decided to ask the Department of Finance and Administration whether some simplification might be possible. The correspondence is reproduced below.
Dr P Boxall
Secretary
Department of Finance and Administration
GPO Box 1920 CANBERRA ACT 2601
Dear Dr Boxall I am attaching a copy of the single-page financial statements in the most recent CSS annual report. You will note that the value of the fund at 30 June 2000 was some 6 billion dollars, and that the statements can be readily understood. Anyone wanting the audited accounts may obtain a copy simply by making a phone call.
The budget administered by the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is nearly nine thousand times smaller than that of the CSS. Yet the financial statements section of the IGIS 1999-2000 annual report runs to 23 of a total of 73 pages and the statements are incomprehensible to a lay reader, even with nearly a dozen pages of explanatory notes. I wonder whether, given the choice, consumers of the annual report would prefer the CSS model or ours.
I am sure this situation is not of your making but it seems that attempts to increase accountability have, in fact, resulted in reporting requirements that ensure that no-one can understand the reports except (just possibly) the people who produce them. Is there not something that can be done to improve the situation for the upcoming reporting cycle?
I am sending Mr Moore-Wilton a copy of this letter, in view of his department's responsibility for annual report guidelines.
Yours sincerely
W J Blick
Inspector-General of
Intelligence and Security
6 April 2001
379. On 17 April 2001 the Manager, Accounting Centre of Excellence in the department replied as follows:
Dear Mr Blick
Thank you for your recent letter to Peter Boxall relating to financial reporting. Peter has asked that I respond on his behalf.
Your letter raised several issues, the brevity of the CSS report and summary financial reporting in general.
In discussing the CSS report firstly, we need to recognise that unlike most Commonwealth reporting entities, the CSS has members, being superannuants and contributing members. As such and as agreed by the regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) summary unaudited financial information is provided to members annually. Correspondingly and to meet their accountability requirements the CSS Board and Comsuper are still required to provide detailed annual reports containing a full audited financial report to the Minister for Finance and Administration. This detailed report is also required by APRA, as the industry regulator, and is available to members.
In respect to financial reporting in general, like superannuation schemes, publicly listed companies are also able to produce a concise report, which is included in a summary annual report that is forwarded to members. To meet accountability requirements, a detailed annual report containing a full and audited financial report is prepared. This detailed report is required by the regulators (ASIC and ASX) and is available to members.
In addition, companies usually provide, as part of the CEO's report, a summary of the financial results for the year, similar to the summarised CSS report.
As you are aware, Parliament requires detailed annual reports that contain full financial reports. This is a legislative requirement that we should not move away from. That said, your point about relevance is very valid. I share your concerns particularly when the financial report of larger agencies is nearing 100 pages and, as you point out, such reports for smaller agencies are 50 plus pages.
I have raised these concerns in recent forums and to that end, we will explore ways of introducing summary or concise financial reporting.
Brett Kaufmann
Manager
Accounting Centre of Excellence
17 April 2001
380. A minor simplification has been possible this year, thanks to the Australian National Audit Office, which has agreed to the removal of two blank tables, ie Schedule of Commitments and Schedule of Contingencies. The requirement for inclusion of the tables is now covered by a note to the financial statements which states that the office has nothing to report in these schedules.