Cash transactions are slowly dwindling in Australia. The Reserve Bank’s 2019 Consumer Payments Survey found that only 32% of in-person transactions are conducted in cash, with the fall in small transactions (i.e. under ten dollars) particularly pronounced given “tap and go” technologies. The percentage of cash transactions has decreased even further over the past year, […]
Privacy Awareness Week is a global campaign that highlights the importance of maintaining privacy and raises awareness for public sector agencies about how to protect the personal information of the people they serve. Respecting privacy is important because it can be highly personal. We are all different, and everyone has different ideas about their privacy. […]
Amongst all the doom and uncertainty associated with Covid-19, there was one tangible benefit that emerged for most organisations. That was that they were compelled to review the currency and efficacy of their Business Continuity Management (BCM) framework and implement (in real-time) their Business Continuity Plan (BCP).
Pen tests are frequently mentioned in the media, yet when they are reported, their results are never released. That keeps the results confidential and secure – and ensure hackers can’t decompile them for their own further nefarious uses. However, for the external viewer, there is always an element of mystery and IT technical complexity surrounding these tests.
The provisions of the NSW Local Government Act 1993 require that all Councils review their full suite of Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) documents within nine months of the election.
As we settle into 2021 – a year that must be better than 2020 – it is important to consider emerging risks and test the design of controls.
Without a robust Probity Plan you are essentially “playing chicken” with every major procurement move you make – the consequences of not having a plan are significant.
A recent investigation found a Council had acted contrary to law by holding public functions in 2016 and 2017 in the incompletely refurbished Civic Centre before gaining the required occupation certificate.
Centium has recently restructured to facilitate future growth.
In the personal sphere, gifts are a wonderful thing. But in our working lives, they are far more problematic. Is the gift – or benefit as it is most often described in policy documents – just a token of respect or does it come with unspoken strings attached?
Scammers and spammers won’t be taking a break this Holiday Season. Their ‘market focus’ will switch to the personal affairs and business of all those at home or on a holiday break. In fact, scammers and spammers have already been very busy this year.
What package of internal audit activities deliver the most value to a council’s operations – and to the community that the council serves?
