Australia's spending watchdog fails own purchasing test

Australia's spending watchdog, the Federal Finance Department, fails to follow the purchasing guidelines it oversees, an internal audit has revealed. The results from the audit released under Freedom of Information laws show 70 per cent of department purchases audited from July 2009 to March 2010 fell foul of the guidelines that it publishes for the commonwealth public service. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report found the finance department had gone backwards since its last audit, warning non-compliance could constitute a breach of the Financial Management and Accountability Act regulations that it administers. Read more here. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/spending-watchdog-fails-its-own-tests-despite-pledges/story-fn59niix-1226115507108