Introduction
On 1 July 2009, the new National Audit Office (NAO) board
structure took effect. For the first time in the history of the
NAO, we have a Board with a non-executive Chairman and a majority
of non-executive members, a Chartered Accountant as Comptroller and
Auditor General (C&AG), and a genuine Leadership Team. This
strategy is our first joint submission, with the support of the
Board, under the new governance arrangements. It sets the strategic
objective of carrying out our statutory responsibilities to the
full by driving lasting improvements in value for money during this
period of challenge for public services.
The current pressure on public finances presents significant
challenges for government departments as they seek to contain and
reduce costs while meeting demands for accessible and high quality
public services. As a unique resource of accounting and
professional skills with the ability to look across the full
breadth of government activities, the NAO will focus on the issues
which bear most strongly on the use of resources across government,
and which therefore drive value for money. This strategy outlines
our intention to apply the NAO’s knowledge and expertise to help
drive change in government and support Parliament.
The core activities of the NAO will continue to be the financial
audit of government departments and the provision of value for
money reports to Parliament. Holding Government to account for its
spending and for providing value for money in public services will
remain a key focus. As an independent body, the NAO will continue
to deliver a quality service to Parliament and audited bodies. We
will pursue our strategic ambitions in parallel with a programme of
work looking at responses to the economic downturn.
The strategy will require real change within the NAO, and we
have ambitious expectations. Recognising the pressure on public
finances, and the importance of the NAO demonstrating its own
efficiency, we will generate the resources necessary to support the
strategy through cost reductions and greater productivity. We
therefore intend to deliver the strategy without seeking an
increase in resources in 2010-11. Beyond 2010-11 our planning
assumption is for a one per cent increase in each of the remaining
two years of the strategy.
We will demonstrate greater added value through identifying
financial impacts arising from our work equivalent to ten times our
running cost. We believe this strategy will ensure that the NAO
continues to be a vital institution of which we can be proud,
achieving its full potential to serve the public and Parliament by
helping government use public money better.
Professor Sir Andrew Likierman
Chair of the NAO Board
Amyas C E Morse
Comptroller and Auditor General