Compliance management and reporting

Synergy Group Australia Ltd, the Museum’s internal audit service provider, maintained a focus on ensuring the completion of prior audit outcomes, the delivery of value-adding services, and compliance and performance audits, in accordance with the Strategic Internal Audit Plan for 2016–17.

The Australian National Audit Office is responsible for auditing the Museum’s annual financial statements. An unqualified audit opinion precedes the annual financial statements in Part Four of this report – Audited financial statements (see Part Four: Audited financial statements).

The Museum has implemented an Enterprise Risk Management Framework, based on the International Standard on Risk Management, ISO 31000:2009.

Enterprise risk management is a process that is effected by Council, the Museum executive and staff, and applied in strategy-setting across the whole of the Museum. It is designed to identify and manage risk and to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of the Museum’s objectives, while embracing new ideas, programs and projects that stimulate public engagement in Australia’s history.

The Museum’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework focuses on risk under the following categories: compliance, health and safety, performance, financial risk, reputation, capability (skills and resources), and environmental and social responsibility. This framework includes a Risk Management Committee, whose role is to ensure compliance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) by overseeing the implementation of risk management practices in accordance with the Museum’s Risk Management Policy and risk appetite statement.

The Museum’s Strategic and Operational risk registers are reviewed and updated regularly by the Risk Management Committee. The risk registers, together with a covering Strategic Risk Management Report, are presented each quarter to the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee of Council.

The Museum continues to participate in Comcover’s annual Risk Management Benchmarking program.

The Museum has in place fraud prevention, detection, investigation, reporting and data collection procedures and processes that, together with the Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Plan, meet the specific needs of the Museum and ensure compliance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines.

Fraud is reported as a standing item to the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee. Fraud awareness training is provided to all staff as part of their induction and ongoing general awareness training.

During 2016–17, the Museum received no formal notifications or ministerial directions from the Minister for Finance. There have been no government policy orders made by the Minister for Finance applying to the Museum under Section 22 of the PGPA Act. No written directions were given to the Council of the Museum by the Minister for the Arts under Section 12 of the Museum Act.

The Museum did not advise the Minister of any significant decisions or issues during 2016–17, in accordance with the PGPA Act. There were no significant activities or changes that affected the operations or structure of the Museum during the reporting period. There have been no judicial decisions or decisions of administrative tribunals that have had, or might have, a significant effect on the operations of the Museum.

No reports about the Museum were made by the Auditor-General, any parliamentary committee, the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

No indemnities applied during the period to the accountable authority, or a member of the accountable authority or officer of the entity, against a liability.

During the reporting period there were no related entity transactions which the Museum would have been required to report under the PGPA Act.