Appendix A: Financial Statements

To the Prime Minister

Matters relating to the Electronic Presentation of the Audited Financial Report

This audit report relates to the financial statements published in both the annual report and on the website of the Australian Public Service Commission for the year ended 30 June 2004. The Agency's Chief Executive is responsible for the integrity of the Australian Public Service Commission's web site.

The audit report refers only to the statements named below. It does not provide an opinion on any other information which may have been hyperlinked to/from the audited financial report.

If the users of this report are concerned with the inherent risks arising from electronic data communications they are advised to refer to the hard copy of the audited financial report to confirm the information included in the audited financial report presented on this web site.

Scope

I have audited the financial statements of the Australian Public Service Commission for the year ended 30 June 2004. The financial statements comprise:

• Statement by the Chief Executive;
• Statements of Financial Performance, Financial Position and Cash Flows;
• Schedules of Contingencies and Commitments; and
• Notes to and forming part of the Financial Statements

of the Australian Public Service Commission for the year ended 30 June 2004.

The Chief Executive is responsible for the preparation and true and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with the Finance Minister's Orders. This includes responsibility for the maintenance of adequate accounting records and internal controls that are designed to prevent and detect fraud and error, and for the accounting policies and accounting estimates inherent in the financial statements.

I have conducted an independent audit of the financial statements in order to express an opinion on them to you. My audit has been conducted in accordance with the Australian National Audit Office Auditing Standards, which incorporate the Australian Auditing Standards, in order to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The nature of an audit is influenced by factors such as the use of professional judgement, selective testing, the inherent limitations of internal control, and the availability of persuasive, rather than conclusive, evidence. Therefore, an audit cannot guarantee that all material misstatements have been detected.

While the effectiveness of management's internal controls over financial reporting was considered when determining the nature and extent of audit procedures, the audit was not designed to provide assurance on internal controls.

I performed procedures to assess whether, in all material respects, the financial statements present fairly, in accordance with the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Financial management and Accountability Act 1997, Accounting Standards and other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia, a view which is consistent with my understanding of the Australian Public Service Commission's financial position, and of its performance as represented by the statements of financial performance and cash flows.

The audit opinion expressed in this report has been formed on the above basis.

Audit opinion

In my opinion the financial statements:

1. have been prepared in accordance with Finance Minister's Orders made under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997; and
2. give a true and fair view, in accordance with applicable Accounting Standards and other mandatory professional reporting requirements in Australia and the Finance Minister's Orders, of the financial position of the Australian Public Service Commission as at 30 June 2004, and its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended.

Australian National Audit Office

Willie Tan
Senior Director

Delegate of the Auditor-General

Canberra
27 August 2004