The Council’s financial management was undertaken on a sound basis involving budget setting, variance analysis and reporting for the organisation as a whole. Financial monitoring and reporting against budget occurred on a monthly basis, and involved all councillors considering a financial report.

The Council worked with the Treasury, the Department of Finance, the ACCC (as the outsourced provider of financial and secretariat services) and the ANAO as key stakeholders to ensure that financial performance aligns with expectations. The Council sought and obtained from the ACCC a statement as to the ACCC’s appropriate management of the Council’s finances in 2018-19.

The Council received audit clearance of its financial statements from the ANAO on 4 September 2019. The ANAO issued an unqualified audit report.

There were no instances of significant non-compliance with finance laws related to the Council during 2018-19.

Asset management and Purchasing

The limited asset management and purchasing required by the Council is undertaken by the ACCC under the MOU discussed earlier in this report.

The Council supports small business participation in the Commonwealth Government procurement market. Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Enterprise participation statistics are available on the Department of Finance’s website.