PGPA Newsletter 81

The 2022 PGPA Survey (the Survey) was launched on 29 April 2022 by ORIMA Research – Finance’s service provider. Thank you to all entities and companies who have already responded.

Given that we have continued to receive a number of requests to extend the deadline for completing the Survey, it will remain open to COB Wednesday 24 June 2022. For those that have not yet submitted their response, ORIMA Research may have already reached out to you.

All Commonwealth entities and companies are encouraged to get involved. The Survey is a mechanism that enables entities and companies to provide feedback on the PGPA framework.

An invitation was sent directly to CFOs on 29 April 2022. To get involved in providing feedback please contact your CFO team. If you experience any difficulties accessing the link or with any other technical issues please contact ORIMA directly via the contact details included in the invitation email.

Contact us at PGPA@finance.gov.au for any other queries related to the Survey.
 

The next quarterly Australian Government Organisations Register (AGOR) statistical update will be undertaken to report on bodies in existence as at 25 July 2022. The reporting date has been extended to allow for records to be updated and for reporting to reflect the Administrative Arrangement Orders commencing on 1 July 2022.

To facilitate the next statistical update, Portfolio Coordinators are required to consider bodies that are to be added and/or removed from the Register and for tasks to be submitted no later than 20 July 2022.

If you have any questions related to the updating of the Register, please contact us at OAR@finance.gov.au. Please visit the AGOR webpage on the Finance website for information about the Register.

Annual report coordinators are reminded of the mandatory requirements for the reporting of Audit Committees in the tabled version and digital version of your 2022-23 report.

The annual report must contain:

• The direct electronic address of the charter determining the functions of the entity’s audit committee. 

As an example, click here to find the direct electronic address of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications audit committee charter.

It is important that the address listed takes a reader to a webpage where the charter is publicly available. This can be a direct link to the charter itself or to a landing page on which a link to the charter is hosted.

It is also important to ensure in the digital version that you enable the hyperlink so that a reader can click straight through to the actual charter.

• The name of each member of the entity’s audit committee. 

It is important to be consistent in how each member is listed. As a guide, use their full name, and post-nominals and any details on their current job title in the Qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience column. 

A community of practice event was held on 8 June 2022, on GovTEAMS outlining the requirements for the 2021-22 annual reporting period. The slides and the video recording are available on the Digital Annual Reports channel on GovTEAMS.

Please contact the Digitalannualreportproject@finance.gov.au for assistance with this and any other queries you may have. 

Updates to RMG-118 Accounting for machinery of government changes and RMG-123 Designating transfers of assets and liabilities as ‘contributions by owners’ (equity) are available on the Finance website.

The key changes to the RMGs are as follows:

• RMG-118 Accounting for machinery of government changes
  • links to additional resources, including the updated Machinery of Government (MoG) changes: a guide for entities, issued in December 2021
  • enhanced guidance on when a MoG change is considered a ‘restructure of administrative arrangements’ under AASB 1004 Contributions
  • clearer guidance on the accounting treatment for transfers of assets and liabilities as a result of MoG changes
  • updated guidance on the MoG effective date and timing of transfers, and interim arrangements for financial reporting
  • updated guidance on calculating annual appropriations to be transferred
  • removal of duplicate information already covered in RMG-123 (non-MoG transfers of assets and liabilities).

• RMG-123 Designating transfers of assets and liabilities as ‘contributions by owners’ (equity)
  • updated guidance on the criteria for transfers to be designated as contributions by/distributions to owners
  • updated guidance on the authority and approvals required to transfer assets and liabilities
  • updated guidance on the accounting treatment for transfers and examples of common asset and liability transfers
  • links to additional resources
  • removal of duplicate information already covered in RMG-118 (transfers of assets and liabilities as a result of MoG changes).

An updated Long Service Leave (LSL) Shorthand Model and associated guidance has been uploaded in the Document Library of the CBMS GovTEAMS community (requires a GovTEAMS login).

The LSL Shorthand Model is for use by entities with no more than 1,000 full time equivalent employees.

The main updates to the LSL Shorthand Model include improved guidance on completing the Inputs tab and troubleshooting validation errors, updated LSL probability factors and other assumptions.

To request a copy of the model should you not have CBMS GovTEAMS community access, or for assistance with the model, please email accountingpolicy@finance.gov.au. For assistance in re-activating your GovTEAMS account, please see the GovTEAMS Support page.

The 2021-22 Standard Parameters will be available on the Financial Reporting and guidance page  of the Finance website in July.

The Machinery of Government (MoG) changes: a guide for entities (MoG Changes Guide) is published jointly by the APSC and Finance and provides practical guidance to entities to support the implementation of MoG changes. The Guide also includes details of relevant entity contacts from PM&C, APSC and NAA to assist you on specific matters.

The MoG Changes Guide, along with a toolkit of practical resources for entities implementing MoG changes are available on the Finance website.

Finance has also established a MOG Taskforce which is providing project management and support to entities implementing the recently announced MoG changes. The Taskforce coordinates and advises of key milestones to help enable the successful transfer of functions, employees, ICT, property management, procurement arrangements, financial and budget arrangements by the commencement date, Friday 1 July 2022. The Taskforce supports entities by connecting them with appropriate subject matter experts within Finance, APSC and PM&C.

All MoG related queries for Finance should be directed to MOGAdvice@finance.gov.au.

Comcover are currently in the process finalising the update of RMG 211 Implementing the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy, and other guidance material to help entities implement the new elements of the revised Commonwealth Risk Management Policy. The news guidance materials include case studies, information sheets and microbites on emerging risks, control effectiveness, and shared risk.

Comcover Education Program

Comcover’s risk education program has been developed to target four levels of desired capability for Australian Public Service officials:

Foundation - Encourages all Commonwealth officials, regardless of level or role to understand the basic risk management concepts of how risk is managed in the Commonwealth;

Generalist -  Supports Commonwealth officials, regardless of level, whose role requires them to engage with and apply their entity's risk management framework to successfully deliver outcomes;

Specialist - Assists job role specialists who are required to design, implement and embed an entity's risk management framework. Specialists facilitate generalists and executives to fulfil their risk management responsibilities; and

Senior Executive Service - Help inform SES to recognise key and emerging risk management issues and demonstrate risk leadership by fostering a positive risk culture in their entity and across the Commonwealth.

Due to the success of our virtual workshops Comcover will continue running virtual workshops to allow everyone to participate across the country as well as our face to face workshops run in Canberra.

Our workshops for the remainder of 2022 are:

To enrol in the workshops and access more Comcover education opportunities please visit the Comcover Learning Centre or call 1800-651-540 and select Option 2.

Remember next year the new Commonwealth Risk Management Policy will be rolled out so this is a great opportunity to engage with your Executive and entity staff and encourage them to prepare for the new policy by undertaking some valuable Risk Management Training.

Did you know that Finance hosts an Entity Start-up guide?

The guide is a web-based portal to support those tasked with setting up a new Commonwealth entity. It is designed to address operational start-up matters in one place, which may be relevant to non-corporate and corporate Commonwealth entities. It provides relevant information to assist officials as they commence the start-up process and relies on the links to a responsible entity’s own website so the detailed information stays as up-to-date as possible.

A main feature of the guide is the key contacts page, noting that the ability to contact the relevant person as directly as possible is critical to supporting new entities navigate the volume and, at times, the complexity of requirements.

Please email us at PGPA@finance.gov.au if you have any questions or feedback.