Report 17 – ReportingNZ: Building a Reporting Framework Fit for Purpose

The transparency of the Budget process, including the financial reporting which is an integral part of that process, was established by the financial management reforms of the early 1990s, and the reporting framework for the public sector has changed little in the three decades since. [...] The reporting framework is comprised of the legislative framework and the financial reporting framework that underpin the preparation and external reporting of information to shareholders and stakeholders. [...] In order to analyse the reporting framework, it is necessary to know what the current reporting framework is and what outcomes a successful reporting framework would deliver New Zealand: • For the purposes of this report, the reporting framework is comprised of the legislative framework and the financial reporting framework that underpin the preparation and reporting of information to shareholders. [...] There are two different perspectives that play out in this narrative: (i) when the entity is at the centre, the question becomes how external risks might impact the entity and (ii) when the community and the environment are at the centre, the question becomes how can the entity impact on or contribute to reducing the risks faced by the country. [...] The 2011 financial reporting review ultimately also resulted in the Financial Reporting Act 2013, which repealed and replaced the 1993 Act and became the legislation at the centre of the reporting framework.