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Annual Report 2001–02 You are currently viewing: Annual
report > Management and Accountability
Corporate governanceThe Speaker of the House of Representatives is responsible to the Parliament for the department. The Clerk of the House of Representatives, who is responsible for managing the department, reports to the Speaker. Key elements of the departments corporate governance framework are outlined below. Legislative structuresThe departments operations are governed by the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 and the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (the FMA Act), and are subject to provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and other legislation. Those acts set out the responsibilities of the Clerk for the management of the department.
Ethical standardsThe Parliamentary Service Values and Code of Conduct, set out in the Parliamentary Service Act 1999, provide a framework for the departments ethical conduct. The department has taken action to promote the values and explain the code by addressing them in the departments induction and orientation programs, providing educational information in the departments staff bulletin and making available to all staff a bookmark listing the values and the code of conduct. During 200102, the department commenced the process of securing staff members explicit endorsement of the values as part of their formal performance agreements.
Senior managersThe departments senior managers comprise the Executive and managers at the Executive band 2 level. The Executive comprises the Clerk and the departments four Senior Executive Service (SES) staff the Deputy Clerk, two Clerks Assistant and the Serjeant-at-Arms. The senior organisational structure changed during the year and that change is illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2. The other members of the Executive support the Clerk with professional expertise and advice, assist in setting departmental priorities and allocating resources, and contribute to the management of the business units of the department. The Executive also supports the Clerk in directing and coordinating departmental activities. The Executive meets as required to discuss a range of management issues within the department. Among the major issues discussed at Executive meetings this year were:
Members of the Executive participate in interparliamentary departmental committees and coordination groups that contribute to the overall direction and management of the Parliament. They also are involved in making presentations to other departments and organisations on the work of the department and the Parliament. The Clerks Assistant and the Serjeant-at-Arms are each responsible for managing a group of business units. Each business unit is headed by a director or committee secretary at the Executive band 2 level. The directors and committee secretaries provide leadership to the business units and participate in policy and practice setting and review. The Executive and directors of business units meet weekly to discuss the written report provided by each business unit on major initiatives it has addressed during that week. The meetings, the information from which is shared with all staff, are an important communication mechanism in the department. The department also conducts monthly meetings at which staff can discuss broader departmental management issues. Topics covered in 200102 included a service charter for members and the community; managing and leading in a changing world; reports by staff who had undertaken attachments in other agencies during the election period; feedback on the leadership survey conducted during the year; performance management; and the development of a new corporate plan. Those discussions were reported in the departments staff newsletter. This financial year the Clerks Assistant and Serjeant-at-Arms, and the directors and committee secretaries, jointly made three presentations to the Clerk and Deputy Clerk on progress against corporate priorities. In addition, a departmental planning day, focusing on the development of a corporate plan for 200205, was held for all staff. The Executive also met regularly with the Chief Finance Officer to discuss financial reporting matters.
Management committeesAudit CommitteeThe department appointed a new Director of Finance in November 2001 and retitled the position as Chief Finance Officer (CFO). In June 2002, the CFO joined the two Clerks Assistant and the Serjeant-at-Arms as members of the Audit Committee to further strengthen the financial knowledge of the committee. The Audit Committee, chaired by the Clerk Assistant (Table), met five times in 200102. The functions and responsibilities of the Audit Committee include:
The departments contracted internal auditor, KPMG, develops draft strategic and annual audit plans in consultation with departmental managers. The plans have regard to any necessary coordination with audits conducted by the Auditor-General. The emphasis in the 200102 internal audit plan was on reviewing controls and compliance in financial management and processing. Consultative committeesThe departments Consultative Committee continued to be an important mechanism for communicating and consulting with staff on workplace issues. Meetings of the committee were temporarily suspended during the development phase of the Department of the House of Representatives Certified Agreement 200203. Six formal meetings were held with union and staff representatives to discuss the agreement in detail. The committee had one formal and one informal meeting following certification of the new agreement. The committee discussed a broad range of issues, including the terms of reference for the operation of the committee, the consultation process for initiatives for change, the monitoring of workplace agreements, and recruitment and other policy matters. A joint departmental (Department of the Senate and Department of the House of Representatives) Security Consultative Committee also operates. Among the issues it discussed in 200102 were the impact of reviews of security; roster arrangements; staff uniforms; training; and the performance management system. The committee met on four occasions.
Planning and evaluationThe departments planning and accountability activity continued to be given emphasis. Key elements of the departments planning and reporting framework are set out in Figure 10.
Corporate planIn May 2002 the department had a planning day during which all staff were invited to participate in the development of a new corporate plan for 200205. The planning day resulted in valuable input for the new corporate plan, which was released in June 2002. Business planOnce the corporate plan had been prepared, the department developed a departmental business plan covering the period 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003. The business plan will be the basis for periodic reporting to the Clerk and Deputy Clerk by departmental managers. The business plan, along with relevant work area plans, will also form the base for the work objectives of individual staff through the work performance management process. Accountability mechanismsThe departments primary external planning and reporting mechanisms continued to be the Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) and the annual report. The departments annual report is prepared pursuant to section 65 of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999. It assesses performance against the targets described in the PBS, and presents the financial statements of the department. Several departmental publications provided information to clients on the departments work. Two editions of the Work of the Session, which contains a summary of the business of the House and its committees, were published. The department also published three editions of its free magazine, About the House, providing an update on significant committee inquiries and highlighting selected aspects of work of the Chamber and Main Committee, or the work of members.
Risk assessment and fraud controlThe departments aim is to increase awareness of operational and financial risk management at all levels within the organisation. During 200102, the department undertook an extensive risk assessment exercise through the departments internal auditor, KPMG, to follow up on the risk assessment exercise undertaken in 199899. While the level of risk in most areas remains low, the events of 11 September 2001 raised the level of risk in some areas of security. In May 2002, the departments Audit Committee endorsed the risk management and fraud control plans. The Clerk certified the fraud control plan and the business risk management plan in June 2002. The departments processes and procedures and fraud control plans comply with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines. Policy statements were issued about the proper use of departmental facilities, particularly the appropriate use of email and internet browsing access. The departments business units have relatively low staff numbers, between six and 15, which provides an effective control on unethical behaviour and inappropriate use of information or resources.
External scrutinyThe departments operations are primarily administrative in nature and are rarely the direct subject of formal external scrutiny. There were no judicial decisions or decisions of administrative tribunals during 2001-02 that had, or that may have, a significant impact on the operation of the department. As noted in last years annual report, the department was experiencing difficulty in meeting some of its financial management responsibilities. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) found two significant issues of internal control which it noted in its report Audits of Financial Statements for Commonwealth Entities for the period ended 30 June 2001. The two issues were:
The department recruited new finance staff, and by mid-year ensured that adequate monthly reconciliation processes were undertaken. The Finance Office was restructured and its duties clarified to ensure adequate segregation of duties occurred. The department participated in the ANAOs protective security audit of physical security arrangements to determine whether agencies had developed and implemented a physical security framework in accordance with Commonwealth policy and standards. As at 30 June 2002 the ANAO had completed its process of gathering information from the department. A report of the results of the audit is expected to be tabled in Parliament in December 2002.
Freedom of informationThe department is not considered to be a department or agency for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). It seeks, however, to comply with the intent of the FOI Act where practicable in relation to the release of administrative information. In this regard, extensive information is provided on the website on the structure of the department and on employment opportunities. This information is also made available in hard copy documents published by the department on its activities, such as the annual report. In addition, information is widely disseminated on how members of the public can interact with the work of the House and its committees. There were no freedom of information requests during the year. You are currently viewing: Annual
report > Management and Accountability
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