This was a challenging audit with a new service delivery model and multiple stakeholders. There were also changes and departures of key staff during the audit, which caused delays in receiving information and responses to our queries. Our conclusion, detailed findings and recommendations meant that the procedural fairness process had to be managed carefully and thoroughly. 

Our audit was also complicated by the change in responsibility for the homelessness services function that occurred as we were finalising our report to Parliament. The function was transferred from SAHT to another government agency from 1 July 2024, and this meant we then had to engage with the other government agency before we reported to Parliament. 

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The various challenges our office faced had the potential to delay our report to Parliament.  We were able to navigate these challenges, report on time and maintain effective relationships with both clients involved in the audit. The Audit Office of South Australia is pleased to note that both agencies are now working together on how to implement our recommendations for more effective management of homelessness services in the future.

Our review was scoped to address the following key areas:

• Is there an effective process to identify and prioritise the service needs of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness?
• Have the objectives, outcomes and success measures for specialist homelessness services been effectively defined?
• Is there a strategy that outlines how specialist homelessness services will meet identified needs and achieve outcomes?
• Are there effective processes for designing the individual specialist homelessness services delivered by homelessness service providers?
• Have effective outcome performance measures been defined and effective processes established to collect relevant and reliable information to measure homelessness service outcomes?
• Is there effective oversight and performance monitoring of homelessness service providers to ensure their contracted performance outcomes are achieved?
• Is there effective performance monitoring and evaluation of the achievement of SAHT’s system-wide objectives and outcomes for specialist homelessness services?

In our experience, the critical things that help agencies prepare quality, readily auditable financial statements are: 

• having a planned and structured approach to preparing financial statements the people who prepare them having appropriate experience and a good understanding of the agency
• key people being available at the time of the audit supporting documentation being prepared and checked, including reconciliations and explanations for major variances.

The following recurring factors have caused difficulty for agencies and for my staff: 

• draft financial statements being incomplete or unreliable and then being significantly amended during the audit
• information supporting the financial statements and needed for the audit not being prepared or finalised, including reconciliations
• draft financial statements incorporating errors or misstatements that would have been identified had the statements been quality reviewed before being submitted.

In the past, where one or more of these factors occurred, the audit of the financial statements was not always completed in time for them to be included in the Annual Report.

Monday 16 September 2024 – Final Audited Financial Statements together with certificate and management representation letter.

Further detail on these requirementa can be sourced from [email] or in details sent to your Chief Executive.

Monday 16 September 2024 – Final Audited Financial Statements together with certificate and management representation letter.

Further detail on these requirementa can be sourced from [email] or in details sent to your Chief Executive.

In our experience, the critical things that help agencies prepare quality, readily auditable financial statements are: 

• having a planned and structured approach to preparing financial statements the people who prepare them having appropriate experience and a good understanding of the agency
• key people being available at the time of the audit supporting documentation being prepared and checked, including reconciliations and explanations for major variances.

The following recurring factors have caused difficulty for agencies and for my staff: 

• draft financial statements being incomplete or unreliable and then being significantly amended during the audit
• information supporting the financial statements and needed for the audit not being prepared or finalised, including reconciliations
• draft financial statements incorporating errors or misstatements that would have been identified had the statements been quality reviewed before being submitted.

In the past, where one or more of these factors occurred, the audit of the financial statements was not always completed in time for them to be included in the Annual Report.

In our experience, the critical things that help agencies prepare quality, readily auditable financial statements are: 

• having a planned and structured approach to preparing financial statements the people who prepare them having appropriate experience and a good understanding of the agency
• key people being available at the time of the audit supporting documentation being prepared and checked, including reconciliations and explanations for major variances.

The following recurring factors have caused difficulty for agencies and for my staff: 

• draft financial statements being incomplete or unreliable and then being significantly amended during the audit
• information supporting the financial statements and needed for the audit not being prepared or finalised, including reconciliations
• draft financial statements incorporating errors or misstatements that would have been identified had the statements been quality reviewed before being submitted.

In the past, where one or more of these factors occurred, the audit of the financial statements was not always completed in time for them to be included in the Annual Report.