Celebration cakes
At the end of last week, the audit certificate for the Department of Health’s accounts finally got approved and the accounts were laid before parliament. I’ve been working on this audit almost full time since January so I’m feeling, along with the rest of the team I’m sure, a great sense of achievement. To celebrate the start of recess and the hard work that final audit required, a lot of cakes and delicious treats were eaten, which was very much appreciated by my sweet tooth. Over the last few months I’ve gained a reputation within my audit team for eating a lot of sugary foods and not much else (you know it’s going to be a long day when you realise you have no change for the daily vending machine trip!).

In terms of ‘what’s next’, my calendar for the coming months is currently looking quite empty; although I’m sure this will soon change. I’m helping start the preparations for the next audits, in particular for the Department of Health’s consolidation return for the Whole of Government accounts (yes that does exist!). It’s an even more complex exercise than the Department’s accounts, as it requires the adding up of all the accounts less the balances which exist between each of the bodies, which are quite a lot. The 11-12 Whole of Government accounts have recently been published. It’s quite a lengthy read but I think it provides an interesting overview of the financial position of Government.

However, before we commence the fieldwork for the audit of DoH’s return, I’m going to college for 4 weeks for the taught phase of the final three exams for the ACA qualification. In Newcastle the class sizes at college tend to be quite small, and mostly just our intake, which means it’s easy to ask questions (and also to be asked questions!). Although I won’t sit these exams until the beginning of November, there’s a steep learning, and re-learning, curve to be achieved in what feels like a short space of time. Wish me luck!

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