Technically, Pip Spence is correct. The Auditor General should be working and talking to the Board of CASA as The Accountable Authority.
This is standard corporate governance practice because the Board is responsible to the shareholders for their investments and that encompasses management of risk. Auditors always report to the Board not the CEO. The CEO is merely an employee, no different from the tea person in the canteen
The AG's review is all about risk, in this case the risk that CASA's surveillance/ oversight operations may fail to detect something important that they should have flagged.
The AG also weighs in on how the Board will satisfy itself that CASAs surveillance is working as it should, in other words, the risk that CASA may be failing its surveillance duties but the Board won't know.
BUT.....and it's a big but, in the corporate world the Board has the power to hire and fire the CEO on a minutes notice. The Board is always asking itself the question "Is the CEO performing well?" If the answer is no, then its "goodbye" which incidentally is why CEO's get paid lots of money - the sword of Damocles, etc.
The CASA Board on the other hand can't fire the CEO, thus it has no power, none at all. It is at best the CEO's cheer squad, at worst a fig leaf for the Minister to hide behind.
The Auditor General was correct in writing to Pip because he understands that the Board is toothless. It is a fantasy to suggest otherwise.
This is standard corporate governance practice because the Board is responsible to the shareholders for their investments and that encompasses management of risk. Auditors always report to the Board not the CEO. The CEO is merely an employee, no different from the tea person in the canteen
The AG's review is all about risk, in this case the risk that CASA's surveillance/ oversight operations may fail to detect something important that they should have flagged.
The AG also weighs in on how the Board will satisfy itself that CASAs surveillance is working as it should, in other words, the risk that CASA may be failing its surveillance duties but the Board won't know.
BUT.....and it's a big but, in the corporate world the Board has the power to hire and fire the CEO on a minutes notice. The Board is always asking itself the question "Is the CEO performing well?" If the answer is no, then its "goodbye" which incidentally is why CEO's get paid lots of money - the sword of Damocles, etc.
The CASA Board on the other hand can't fire the CEO, thus it has no power, none at all. It is at best the CEO's cheer squad, at worst a fig leaf for the Minister to hide behind.
The Auditor General was correct in writing to Pip because he understands that the Board is toothless. It is a fantasy to suggest otherwise.