Welcome

I am thrilled to invite you to the fourth International Meeting of Performance Audit Critical Thinkers (IMPACT). Established in 2016 as an initiative of the Australasian Council of Auditors-General, the responsibility to host this biennial conference rotates among ACAG Audit Offices. As the only Australian-led international conference dedicated to public sector performance audit, I look forward to welcoming our fellow performance audit peers to Perth, Western Australia. This two-day in-person conference offers you a unique opportunity to share ideas and innovations with other auditing offices, discuss emerging topics, and devise solutions to addressing performance auditing issues in a time of increasing complexity and rapid change. 

Through collaboration and sustained learning, we gain strength and inspiration from each other to continue finding innovative solutions to age old problems. Topics such as efficiency and effectiveness, workforce insights, using emotional intelligence and critical thinking to influence change, and the importance of independence are always relevant but even more so now in this era of increased misinformation and disinformation. 

This period has increased the parliamentary and public appetite for truth and transparency from institutions they can trust. This has elevated the responsibility of performance auditors to ensure their considered opinion is heard over the proliferation of information coming from less reputable sources. The key to having the public and parliament hear our opinions is to ensure they are independent, diligently researched, evaluated, and backed by tangible evidence. In support of this, an Auditor-General’s broad powers to access information ensures performance auditors can gather enough information to form an impactful opinion. Such extensive powers are integral to our work, which is why we must always fiercely protect our independence and integrity.

My Office cannot wait to welcome you to the 2025 IMPACT Conference. I know you will find the presentations insightful, and I hope you take some time to taste all that our wonderful State of Western Australia has to offer.

Caroline Spencer

Auditor General for Western Australia