Annual Report of Findings 2023

Background

The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) is responsible for public audit in Jersey.  The responsibilities of the C&AG relate to the financial statements of the States of Jersey and other entities as well as wider aspects on the use of public funds.  The C&AG has specific duties under the Comptroller and Auditor General (Jersey) Law 2014 to consider and report on:

• general corporate governance arrangements
• the effectiveness of internal controls, and of the internal auditing of those controls
• whether resources are being used economically, efficiently and effectively; and
• actions needed to bring about improvement, where improvement is needed.

This report summarises the findings and recommendations made by the C&AG during 2023.  It also considers the status at 31 December 2023 of recommendations made by the C&AG that have been agreed by Government but not yet implemented.

Conclusions

C&AG recommendations are made to improve governance and accountability, value for money, financial management and internal control.  While I acknowledge the limitations on officer capacity and the need to prioritise, recommendations that remain open represent opportunities for improvement that are not being realised. This is also true for recommendations that are accepted but not implemented and are closed without due consideration of the risk associated with non-implementation.

The C&AG acknowledge that the process through which recommendations are tracked can be cumbersome and that, in some instances, implementation can take more than one year. The C&AG will work with officers during 2024 to consider options for reducing the complexity in the process and improving the timeliness of completing recommendations and securing improvement in the services provided by States of Jersey to Islanders.