Financial and Performance Management Standard 2019

This standard may be cited as the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2019.

This standard commences on 1 September 2019.

The dictionary in schedule 1 defines particular words used in this standard.

The purpose of this standard is to provide a framework for a department’s accountable officer or a statutory body to achieve reasonable value for money by establishing and maintaining systems, practices and controls for the efficient, effective and economical financial and performance management of the department or statutory body.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body—

is not limited by this standard; and

must adopt a proactive approach in monitoring the appropriateness of the systems, operations and overall financial position and performance of the department or statutory body.

Example for subsection (2)—

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body may include matters in a system other than matters mentioned in this standard as elements of the system.

This section applies if a provision of this standard provides that, in particular circumstances, a department’s accountable officer, a statutory body or the Treasurer must have regard to another document.

The accountable officer, statutory body or Treasurer complies with the provision by—

considering the contents of the document; and

deciding whether the contents apply in the circumstances; and

if the accountable officer, statutory body or Treasurer decides the contents apply in the circumstances—applying the contents.

Note—

A copy of a document mentioned in this standard that is made, published or tabled in the Legislative Assembly by the Treasurer or the treasury department may be obtained from the head office of the treasury department in Brisbane or from the treasury department’s website.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body must ensure a governance framework appropriate for the department or statutory body is established and maintained.

Governance, for a department or statutory body, is the way the department or statutory body manages the performance of its functions and operations.

Governance—

incorporates—

the cultural and operational aspects of a department or statutory body that are influenced by its actions and decisions; and

the ethics principles for public officials under the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994, section 4; and

includes the concepts of—

openness, integrity and accountability; and

due care; and

public defensibility; and

includes establishing and maintaining a performance management system, a risk management system and an internal control structure.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body must establish and maintain a cost-effective structure (an internal control structure) to provide for the internal controls of the department or statutory body.

The internal control structure must—

strongly emphasise accountability, best practice management of the resources of the department or statutory body and internal control; and

include—

an organisational structure and delegations that support the objectives and operations of the department or statutory body; and

provision for the employment of qualified and competent officers, training of the officers and assessment of their performance; and

if the department or statutory body controls another entity—procedures for monitoring the performance of, and accounting for its investment in, the other entity.

If a risk management committee, internal audit function or audit committee is established for the department or statutory body, the internal control structure must provide for the efficient, effective and economical operation of the committee or function.

Note—

See also sections 23, 24 and 30.

In establishing and maintaining the internal control structure, the accountable officer or statutory body must have regard to—

the financial accountability handbook; and

the QGEA.

The internal control structure must be described in the financial management practice manual of the department or statutory body.

To the extent practicable, the internal control structure must provide for an appropriate separation of duties between officers of the department or the statutory body.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body must develop—

a strategic plan for the department or statutory body; and

an operational plan for—

the whole of the department or statutory body; or

the parts of the department or statutory body for which the accountable officer or statutory body considers the plan is appropriate.Examples of parts of a department or statutory body—

business units, service areas, divisions

The strategic plan must cover a period of 4 years but may be reviewed or amended during the period.

The operational plan must cover a period of not more than 1 year.

In developing the strategic plan or operational plan, the accountable officer or statutory body must comply with the document called ‘Agency planning requirements’ prepared by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

Note—

A copy of the document is available on the Department of the Premier and Cabinet’s website.

The accountable officer or statutory body is responsible for implementing the strategic plan and operational plan for the department or statutory body.

This section does not apply to a department’s accountable officer in relation to an operation of the department that has been commercialised if the operation, or the department on behalf of the operation, has entered into an annual performance contract in accordance with the commercialisation document.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body must manage the performance of the department or statutory body in accordance with the document called ‘Queensland government performance management framework policy’ prepared by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

Note—

A copy of the document is available on the Department of the Premier and Cabinet’s website.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body must establish and maintain a system (a performance management system) for—

obtaining information (performance information) to enable the accountable officer or statutory body to determine whether the department or statutory body is—

achieving the objectives stated in its strategic plan efficiently, effectively and economically; and

delivering the services stated in its operational plan to the standard stated in the plan; and

evaluating the achievement of the department’s or statutory body’s objectives.

Without limiting subsection (1), the performance management system must—

identify, and state the roles and responsibilities of, persons responsible for the giving of performance information; and

require the persons to give the performance information to—

the accountable officer or statutory body at least once every 3 months; and

the appropriate Minister for the department or statutory body at least annually, and when the appropriate Minister asks for the performance information; and

assess the appropriateness of the department’s or statutory body’s objectives and the extent to which they have been achieved; and

assess the appropriateness of the services delivered by the department or statutory body to achieve its objectives and how efficiently, effectively and economically the services have been delivered; and

identify and assess potential ways to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the operations of the department or statutory body.

Subsection (2)(c) to (e) does not apply to a performance management system for the Queensland Audit Office.

In this section—

objectives, of a department or statutory body, means the objectives stated in the department’s or statutory body’s strategic plan.

Queensland Audit Office means the Queensland Audit Office established under the Auditor-General Act 2009, section 6(3).

services, for a department or statutory body, means the services stated in the department’s or statutory body’s operational plan.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body must establish and maintain the following systems (each a resource management system) for efficiently, effectively and economically managing the resources of the department or statutory body—

a revenue management system;

an expense management system;

an asset management system;

a cash management system;

a liability management system;

a contingency management system;

a financial information management system;

a risk management system.

Note—

See also sections 13, 14 and 18 to 23.

The accountable officer or statutory body must regularly review each of the department’s or statutory body’s resource management systems to ensure the systems remain appropriate for managing the resources of the department or statutory body.

In establishing, maintaining or reviewing a resource management system, the accountable officer or statutory body must have regard to the financial accountability handbook.

A department’s accountable officer or a statutory body must prepare and maintain a financial management practice manual for use in the financial management of the department or statutory body.

The financial management practice manual—

must be prepared and maintained in accordance with a policy or procedure used by the department or statutory body to manage its resources under its resource management systems; and

may be in the form of separate policies, guidelines and other relevant material in hard copy or electronic format; and

may be in the form of processes that are built electronically into the resource management systems and must be followed by the department or statutory body.

Note—

See also section 7(5).

A person involved in the financial management of a department or statutory body must, subject to the Act or another law that applies to the financial management of the department or statutory body, comply with the financial management practice manual of the department or statutory body.

If a Minister is the appropriate Minister for more than 1 statutory body—

the appropriate Minister or a relevant entity for the statutory bodies may prepare and maintain a financial management practice manual (a standard manual) for use in the financial management of the statutory bodies; and

the standard manual applies in relation to the statutory bodies unless the appropriate Minister decides it is not appropriate for it to apply.

In this section—

relevant entity, for statutory bodies, means—

the department administering the Act or Acts under which the statutory bodies were established; or

a statutory body assisting the appropriate Minister for the statutory bodies in administering the Act or Acts under which the statutory bodies were established.