The NAO Strategy 2011-12 to 2013-14 sets out how we will apply the unique perspective of public audit to help Parliament and government drive lasting improvement in public services.

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The challenges currently faced by the public sector are significant, with public bodies under pressure to deliver their services with fewer resources. It is now more important than ever for these organisations to be in control of their costs, to manage their risks, to have adequate information about their performance, and to understand how their services can be delivered most cost-effectively.

The National Audit Office, reporting to Parliament, has a unique role in helping public bodies to meet these challenges. Our deep public audit expertise and our independent remit across the whole of the public sector allow us to focus on issues that are central to ensuring that public money is well spent.

Specific, practical issues will arise as public bodies address challenges that currently include, among others, the need to reduce costs, to decentralise, and to reform the criminal justice, health, and welfare systems. Through a rigorous independent assessment of these client issues, we are able to focus our work where it is most likely to help drive operational improvement and protect public value. This in turn allows us to target our resources more effectively, to utilise our knowledge more systematically, and to adopt a more standardised approach more consistently at lower cost. As we conduct structured examinations of the forthcoming changes, this strategy will allow us to add value in helping to drive public service improvement over the coming three years, while requiring 15 per cent fewer resources.

The NAO is already well-placed to support Parliament in helping government address its many challenges in delivering public services at a cost that represents value to the taxpayer. Over the coming year, we intend to become more effective still.

Professor Sir Andrew Likierman
Chairman

Amyas C E Morse
Comptroller and Auditor General

The challenges currently faced by the public sector are significant, with public bodies under pressure to deliver their services with fewer resources. It is now more important than ever for these organisations to be in control of their costs, to manage their risks, to have adequate information about their performance, and to understand how their services can be delivered most cost-effectively.

The National Audit Office, reporting to Parliament, has a unique role in helping public bodies to meet these challenges. Our deep public audit expertise and our independent remit across the whole of the public sector allow us to focus on issues that are central to ensuring that public money is well spent.

Specific, practical issues will arise as public bodies address challenges that currently include, among others, the need to reduce costs, to decentralise, and to reform the criminal justice, health, and welfare systems. Through a rigorous independent assessment of these client issues, we are able to focus our work where it is most likely to help drive operational improvement and protect public value. This in turn allows us to target our resources more effectively, to utilise our knowledge more systematically, and to adopt a more standardised approach more consistently at lower cost. As we conduct structured examinations of the forthcoming changes, this strategy will allow us to add value in helping to drive public service improvement over the coming three years, while requiring 15 per cent fewer resources.

The NAO is already well-placed to support Parliament in helping government address its many challenges in delivering public services at a cost that represents value to the taxpayer. Over the coming year, we intend to become more effective still.

Professor Sir Andrew Likierman
Chairman

Amyas C E Morse Comptroller and Auditor General

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