Management of the universities and TAFEs are responsible for keeping proper accounts and records to enable the timely and accurate preparation of financial reports.

An effective internal control system should operate to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to alert management to irregularities in procedures. They also assist universities and TAFEs to prevent, detect and investigate errors and fraud.

The Auditor General is required to issue an audit opinion for each university and TAFE to the responsible Minister. The opinion relates to:

• financial statements – assurance that the financial statements and supporting notes are materially complete, accurate, reliable and comply with relevant legislation and applicable accounting standards
• controls – assurance that the internal financial control systems and procedures are materially adequate to ensure that financial transactions comply with legislative requirements
• key performance indicators (KPIs) – assurance that the KPIs are relevant, appropriate, based on reliable data and, in all material respects, fairly present the performance of the entity in achieving its desired outcomes.

These audit opinions relate to historical information reported in the financial statements and KPIs and are not predictive of future expectations.

Clear opinions were issued for all universities and TAFEs

For the year ended 31 December 2018, we issued clear audit opinions on the financial statements, controls and KPIs of all universities, university subsidiaries and for the 5 TAFEs. University and TAFE audit opinions are included in their annual reports which are tabled in Parliament.

Some universities use subsidiary companies to conduct activities on their behalf. The audit opinions we issued for these subsidiaries relate to financial statements only as they are not required to submit KPIs. The financial results of the subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements of their controlling university. Annual reports of subsidiaries are not required to be tabled in Parliament.

UNIVERSITIES Opinion on financial statements, controls and KPIs	Opinion issued
Curtin University (Curtin)	22/03/2019
Edith Cowan University (ECU)	12/03/2019
Murdoch University (Murdoch)	15/03/2019
The University of Western Australia (UWA)	12/03/2019

 

TAFEs Opinion on financial statements, controls and KPIs	Opinion issued
Central Regional TAFE	08/03/2019
North Metropolitan TAFE	06/03/2019
North Regional TAFE	05/03/2019
South Metropolitan TAFE	14/03/2019
South Regional TAFE	07/03/2019

 

UNIVERSITIES’ SUBSIDIARIES AND REQUEST AUDITS Opinion on financial statements only	Opinion issued
Edith Cowan University St Stephen’s College Pty Ltd (for year ended 30/06/2018)	27/02/2019
Murdoch University Alan and Iris Peacocke Research Foundation Innovative Chiropractic Learning Pty Ltd Murdoch College Properties Pty Ltd Murdoch Retirement Services Pty Ltd   Final audits 01/01/2018 – 04/07/2018 ·         Murdoch University Foundation ·         Murdoch University Veterinary Trust	14/03/2019 15/03/2019 15/03/2019 13/03/2019     20/03/2019 20/03/2019
The University of Western Australia Perth USAsia Centre Limited The University Club of Western Australia Pty Ltd UWA Accommodation Services Pty Ltd UWA Sport Pty Ltd Young Lives Matter Foundation UWA Ltd	10/04/2019 18/03/2019 18/03/2019 08/05/2019 13/03/2019

Table 1: Audit opinions issued for universities, TAFEs, subsidiaries and request audits

Seven other audit opinions were issued

In addition to the tertiary education sector audits reported above, we issued a further 5 opinions for state entities since 1 November 2018. We also issued 2 opinions for local governments since our March 2019 Audit Results Report – Annual 2017-18 Financial Audits of Local Government Entities. Please refer to Appendix 1 on page 25.

Fifty-seven audit certifications were issued

Throughout the year, we conduct audit work to certify financial and statistical information produced by entities. The audit opinion enables entities to meet conditions of State or Commonwealth funding or specific grant requirements or legislation. The opinion may also enable entities to receive ongoing funding under existing agreements or to apply for new funding.

Our November 2018 Audit Results Report – Annual 2017-18 Financial Audits of State Government Entities detailed 136 certifications issued by 1 November 2018, including 119 certifications under the Royalties for Regions program – predominantly for the 30 June 2018 period.

We have since issued a further 57 certifications including 43 under the Royalties for Regions program. Please refer to Appendix 2 on page 26.