How We Audit

Every audit conducted by the Audit Office of the Velocity Interoperability Network follows the same cycle, from the selection of the subject to the follow-up of the recommendations made, and is carried out in accordance with the Auditing Standards of the Network. This page describes the types of audit the Office conducts, the stages of an audit and what a department or network service can expect when it is audited.

Types of audit. The Office conducts four types of audit. A single engagement may combine more than one.

Financial audit

The examination and certification of accounts. The Office states whether the accounts present a true and fair view of the body's income, expenditure, assets and liabilities, and whether the money was applied to the purposes intended by the Network Assembly. The consolidated accounts of the Network and the accounts of each department are certified every year.

Compliance audit

The examination of whether a body has acted within its powers and in accordance with the financial rules, procurement rules, schemes of delegation and conditions of grant that apply to it. Compliance audits are selected for the annual programme or carried out at the request of the Assembly.

Performance audit

The examination of whether a body has used its resources economically, efficiently and effectively. A performance audit does not question the merits of a policy; it examines how well the policy was carried out and reports on what could be done better.

Systems and data assurance

The examination of the systems on which the Network's accounts and services depend, including controls over access, changes and the personal data they hold. The Office reports on whether the systems can be relied upon and on the risks that remain.

The audit cycle. The seven stages below apply to every audit. For the certification of accounts, the first stage does not arise and the timetable is set by the date on which the accounts must be laid before the Assembly.

1. 1

   Step 1: Selection

   The subject is selected for the annual audit programme against published criteria, or added to the programme during the year at the request of the Network Assembly or following a referral. The certification of accounts recurs every year and does not require selection.

2. 2

   Step 2: Notification

   The Office writes to the accounting officer of the body at least four weeks before fieldwork begins. The letter sets out the terms of reference, the period to be examined, the audit team, the records that will be required and the name of the director responsible.

3. 3

   Step 3: Planning

   The team studies the body's functions, finances and systems, assesses where the risk of error or irregularity is greatest, sets the level of materiality for the audit and agrees with the body the practical arrangements for access to records, systems and staff.

4. 4

   Step 4: Fieldwork

   The team examines records, tests samples of transactions, reviews controls, interviews officers and inspects sites and assets. Fieldwork normally takes between four and eight weeks. The body is told promptly of any matter that requires immediate attention.

5. 5

   Step 5: Clearance

   A draft of the findings is sent to the body, which has four weeks to comment on its factual accuracy and to state whether it accepts each recommendation. The Office considers every comment. Matters of fact are corrected; matters of judgement remain for the Office to decide.

6. 6

   Step 6: Reporting

   The final report is reviewed by a director who took no part in the fieldwork, signed by the Auditor General, laid before the Network Assembly and published on this site the same day. The response of the body is published with the report.

7. 7

   Step 7: Follow-up

   Every recommendation is entered in the register of recommendations with the body's response and the date by which it undertook to act. The Office reviews progress six and twelve months after publication and reports the outcome in its annual report to the Assembly.

Timetable. The indicative durations below are those the Office works to. Where a stage will take longer, the body is told the reason.

What audited bodies can expect. The Office will give notice of an audit, explain its scope, keep the body informed of progress, and put its findings to the body before they are published. It will ask only for information that is relevant to the audit, take account of the burden its requests place on the body, and treat what it learns in confidence. It will report fairly, giving weight to what is in good order as well as to what is not, and it will name no individual officer in a published report unless the Assembly directs otherwise.

What the Office expects of audited bodies. Bodies are required to give the Office access at all reasonable times to their records, systems and premises, to supply the information it asks for within the time it specifies, to make officers available for interview and to respond to every recommendation. An accounting officer who obstructs an audit is reported to the Assembly.

Enquiries about an audit in progress should be addressed to the director named in the letter of notification. General enquiries about the Office's methods may be sent to contact@audit.gov.vin. For the audits planned for the year ahead, see the Audit Programme; for the reports published so far, see Audit Reports.