Annual Plan 2024-25

We have published our Annual Plan for 2024-25 which outlines our priorities for the next 12 months.

Welcome to our Annual Plan 2024-25

Welsh public services face enormous financial, demand and workforce pressures. 

Though public bodies must make their own decisions about how they navigate those challenges, independent public audit provides early warning of problems arising, highlights opportunities for improving value for money, and supports good governance and financial management.

This annual plan describes how we intend to do that in the coming year and so provide the public, politicians, decision makers and influencers with the information and assurance they need about how well public money is being spent.

Read Foreword in full
Adrian Crompton Auditor General for Wales
Dr Ian J Rees Board Chair

Our purpose

Assure

people that public money is being managed well

Explain

how that money is being spent

Inspire

the public sector to improve

Our vision is to increase our impact by

Fully exploiting our unique perspective, expertise and depth of insight

Strengthening our position as an authoritative, trusted and independent voice

Increasing our visibility, influence and relevance

Being a model organisation for the public sector in Wales and beyond

Our areas of focus

A strategic and dynamic and high-quality audit programme

A targeted and impactful approach to communications and influencing

A culture and operating model that enables us to thrive

Our programmes of work

Audit delivery

We will deliver a comprehensive and impactful programme of audit work.

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Business improvement

We will take action across a suite of key business planning priorities.

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Audit delivery

We will deliver a comprehensive and impactful programme of audit work, in accordance with the Auditor General’s statutory powers and duties. 

We work in accordance with international standards on auditing and other recognised standards.

 

 

Our core work

Undertaking local audit work at over 800 public bodies

Delivering a programme of national studies

Certifying grant schemes worth approaching £1.5 billion

Supporting effective scrutiny including the work of the Senedd committees

Sharing good practice and audit learning to support public service delivery

Facilitating the detection of fraud and error through the National Fraud Initiative

Local audit work

Senedd Commission
  • Audit of accounts
     
Welsh Government
 
  • Audit of accounts
  • Sustainable development principle examinations
10 Welsh Government sponsored bodies
  • Audit of accounts
  • Sustainable development principle examinations. 
Welsh Revenue Authority
(including the tax statement)
  • Audit of accounts
     
Welsh Government owned companies
  • Audit of accounts. 
Six commissoners, inspectorates and regulators
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
     
Seven local health boards
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
  • Sustainable development principle examinations
Three NHS Trusts and two Special Health Authorities
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
  • Sustainable development principle examinations
     
22 councils (unitary authorities)
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
  • Sustainable development principle examinations
     
Four police and crime commissioners and chief constables
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
     
Three fire and rescue authorities
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
  • Sustainable development principle examinations
     
Three national park authorities
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
  • Sustainable development principle examinations
     
Nine pension funds
  • Audit of accounts
     
Corporate Joint Committees
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
  • Sustainable development principle examinations
     
City Region Growth Deals
  • Audit of accounts
  • Local performance audit work
     
Several smaller public bodies

including joint committees and harbour authorities 

  • Audit of accounts
730+ town and community councils
  • Audit of accounts
     

National studies

We will carry out a programme of national studies and prepare additional outputs highlighting common themes from our local audit work.

We keep our forward programme under regular review, taking account of the evolving external environment, our own resourcing and the capacity of audited bodies to engage with us. We maintain sufficient flexibility so that we can respond effectively to emerging issues of public or parliamentary concern. Additional outputs may also emerge from ongoing research and development work.

The national studies programme is focused around four main themes

Tackling inequality

Responding to the climate and nature emergency

Service resilience and access

Well-managed public services 

View our forward work programme

More information on our Audit Delivery work

The full version of our Annual Plan includes more detail on delivery of our audit work including information on audit standards and an explanation of how we follow the public pound in Wales. Use the button below to download a PDF version.

Download the full version of the Annual Plan

Business priorities

To help us in achieving our longer-term vision, we will take action across a suite of key business planning priorities, aligned with our three areas of focus.

We have also identified a suite of key performance indicators to measure our progress.

A strategic, dynamic and high quality audit programme

Bring forward the timetable for the delivery of accounts audit work in line with Welsh Government deadlines (15 July for NHS and 30 November for local government).

What success will look like:

We deliver a three-year plan to bring forward the timetables for delivering accounts audit work post-COVID. Ultimately, we wish to consistently achieve 30 June for the NHS sector and 30 September for local government.

Timeframe: 2024-26
Bring forward the timeframe for the completion of local performance work such that the majority is completed in year.

What success will look like:

We bring forward the delivery of the local government and NHS local performance audit work programme so that a significantly higher proportion of work is completed in the year the audit plan relates to.

Timeframe: 2024-26
Fully embed new auditing and other recently introduced standards, identifying key learning points and scope for efficiency.

What success will look like:

ISA 315 and new performance audit standards are fully embedded into our audit approach, and we continue to identify and take forward relevant learning and efficiencies.

Timeframe: 2024-27
Introduce a more systematic approach to follow up work and the tracking of implementation of audit recommendations by public bodies.

What success will look like:

A clearer approach to planning follow-up work within our local and national programmes, that allows us to track implementation of audit recommendations. This will support compliance with audit standards and our reporting on the impact of our work.

Timeframe: 2024-26
Greater focus on value for money through stronger financial and outcomes analysis in our performance audit work.

What success will look like:

Relevant audit outputs include clear analysis of related spending and whether desired outcomes are being achieved in an efficient, economic, and effective way. All opportunities to draw attention to and quantify areas of fraud/waste/potential saving are taken. Fraud analytics work, beyond the core NFI exercise, is embedded in our work programme.

Timeframe: 2024-26

Statutory deadlines

Proportion of audit products delivered by the statutory or agreed deadline.
 

Target: 100%
On time    

Proportion of other key audit products delivered in accordance with the planned timetable for ensuring timely and impactful reporting.
 

Target: 90%
Quality    

Number of reviewed audits that are delivered in accordance with Financial Reporting Council (FRC) quality standards.
 

Target: All audits sampled in the highest two quality categories
Credibility    

Proportion of stakeholders that consider us to be an independent and authoritative communicator on the governance and stewardship of public money and assets.    
 

Target: At least 90%
Providing insight    

Proportion of stakeholders who said that through our work, they gained useful insight that they would not have acquired otherwise.     

Target: At least 80%
Driving improvement    

Proportion of stakeholders who believe our work has led to improvements in the provision of public services.    
 

Target: At least 80%
Savings identified    

Value of potential savings, productivity gains and other financial benefits identified through our work.    

 

Target: At least £30m during 2023-26

A targeted and impactful approach to communications and influencing

Use our refreshed website to extend our reach and improve access to our published, live, and upcoming audit work.

What success will look like:

Wider engagement with our work while it is in progress and on completion, so stakeholders better appreciate the rationale for our programmes, our priorities and findings

Timeframe: 2024-25
Increase access to and engagement with good practice and insights during and on completion of our audit work.

What success will look like:

We curate and promote examples of good practice and insight that complement our audit work. in a way and format that is engaging for stakeholders. We will deliver this through podcasts, case studies, blogs, shared learning events and published guides.

Timeframe: 2024-26

Good practice outputs

Proportion of stakeholders who rate our good practice outputs as useful or very useful.

 

Target: At least 90%
Website visits

Number of visits to our website where at least one action is performed, e.g. download a report, click on a video.

Target: 48,000 each year
Social media

Number of social media engagements, ie interactions with our posts such as a like, a comment, or retweet/share.

Target: 4,000 each year
Sharing audit learning

Number of instances where we present audit learning to key policy working groups or at relevant externally hosted events.

Target: 50 each year

A culture and operating model that enables us to thrive

Develop and implement a three-year quality monitoring programme to support our whole organisation approach to managing the risk to audit quality.

What success will look like:

A more effective process for identifying, managing and monitoring risks to achieving audit quality.

Timeframe: 2024-25
Deliver a whole organisation workforce plan designed to better meet current, and plan for future, staffing needs.

What success will look like:

A holistic, regularly refreshed workforce plan that helps us put in place the resource and skills we need to deliver our work programmes.

Timeframe: 2024-25
Further invest in our trainee and apprenticeship schemes to strengthen the field of candidates and provide better coverage of performance audit work.

What success will look like:

We offer an enhanced graduate trainee scheme that attracts a more diverse pool of applicants through suitable outreach work and marketing and provides greater opportunities for trainees to gain knowledge and experience of performance audit work.

Timeframe: 2024-25
Encourage greater in-person working within our hybrid working model, to ensure a productive, collaborative and engaging environment for the delivery of high-quality work.

What success will look like:

We have a flexible, efficient and effective way of working which ensures that teams are regularly working together, fully understand the nature of each part of the business, and respect what each team brings to the delivery of the Audit Wales strategy.

Timeframe: 2024-25

Employee engagement

Percent positive annual staff survey engagement index score. 

Target: Civil Service median benchmark
Turnover

Proportion of employees who voluntarily leave Audit Wales per annum.

Target: Between 5% and 10%
Sickness absence

Proportion of total time lost due to sickness absence.

Target: Less than 4%
Financial balance

Net underspend variance on income and expenditure from that set out in our Estimate for the current year.

 

Target: Less than 2%
Cost savings

Value of in-year cost savings delivered across the business.

Target: £400,000
Greenhouse gas emissions

Total CO2  equivalent emissions

Target: 40% reduction on 2019-20 baseline
Trainee success rate

Proportion of trainees achieving first-time passes in their Professional and Advanced level examinations with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Target: At least 90%

View the full version of the Annual Plan

The full version of our Annual Plan includes more detail on delivery of our audit work and business priorities including information on our operating environment, key risk areas, finances and how we follow the public pound in Wales. Use the button below to download a PDF version.

Download the full version of the Annual Plan