Audit rebuke for council

By Mary Anne Gill

Audit New Zealand has rapped Waipā District Council over the knuckles in its annual Management Report for approving expenses to the chief executive and mayor without the proper authority.

The instances involved deputy chief executive Ken Morris who signed off on payments for former mayor Jim Mylchreest and chief executive Garry Dyet.

The sign offs should have come from different sources

– two councillors in one case, the mayor in the other.

They came to light when Audit NZ reviewed the council’s expenditure as part of the council’s annual audit for the 2021-2022 financial year.

Audit NZ’s René van Zyl and Kayode Oloro appeared before the Audit and Risk committee this week.

The body acts as a watchdog for ratepayers –there were no questions over the integrity of the expenses signed off, only who actually signed them off.

The process is designed to safeguard councils – and ratepayers - and ensure money spent is approved appropriately. prepared to wait until June to see that letter.” matters management should address to enhance control environment and reporting.

There was a twist in the tail – because the office was also delivered a rebuke.

It issued an audit report in December and said a final report would not be given until June, a consequence of staff shortages.

Independent chair Bruce Robertson said that was unacceptable.

As part of the audit, auditors checked elected members’ interests.

Morris said “one or two slipped through the cracks” and staff would not “just” rely on elected members’ declarations in future.

Auditor Leon Pieterse said his office recommended one-up approval on all sensitive expenditure and the approver should be independent of the benefits.

!" #$%&'(')*"$+) -./0()1%2")3&%44)35%6")#7)

“Your pressures are not our pressures,” he said. “You’re providing the service to us and I’m not

They would search the Charities and Companies registers and do a complete check as Audit NZ does.

Details of the expenses’ payments to Mylchreest and Dyet were included in the Management Report where Audit NZ highlighted

0">()=0+".(=/0)9@ !" -"ABC

0">()=0+".(=/0)9@ !" -"ABC

The council said two of the instances picked up by Audit NZ involved expenditure from the Mayoral Discretionary Budget.

“Any expense incurred is considered by staff as being entirely at the mayor’s discretion. The budget is limited to a relatively small per annum amount and the senior staff member providing the final financial approval of the mayor’s discretionary wishes is cognisant of the need for the expense to be reasonable given that it is of ratepayer funds.”

The funds usually go to community groups, the council said.

“A requirement for further ‘approvals’ to be obtained from councillors in this instance would defeat the intent that the mayor

Continued on page 5

This newspaper is subject to NZ Media Council procedures. A complaint must first be directed in writing, within one month of publication, to the editor’s email address.

If not satisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the Media Council P O Box 10-879, The Terrace, Wellington 6143. Or use the online complaint form at www. mediacouncil.org.nz

Please include copies of the article and all correspondence with the publication.