INTHEBLACK February / March 2026 - Magazine - Page 17
They draw lessons from various audits on good
practice and common pitfalls, then summarise
those insights.
“It is not advice or consulting,” McLiesh
says. “Instead, it is sharing knowledge and
expertise. I think that the really positive,
constructive role of audit is critical for us
to achieve our purpose. It is something
I am emphasising.”
PUBLIC VS PRIVATE
There are numerous similarities between
public-sector financial statement audits
and corporate audits, as well as several
differences in mandate and product.
The ANAO reports to the Parliament, not
to a board or to shareholders. McLiesh herself
is an independent officer with the Parliament
as opposed to a part of the executive
government, which she audits.
“Where the public sector diverges the
most from the private sector is in the nature
of our products, as we also audit performance
measures,” says McLiesh, who began her career
with Boston Consulting Group before working
with the Red Cross in Botswana, and Bosnia
and Herzegovina, then the World Bank in
Washington D.C.
She then returned to Australia and spent
11 years in the New South Wales public
sector, mostly in the Treasury, but admits
to being no expert in the corporate audit
space. However, she says the same levels
of professional scepticism, if not more, are
required when auditing in the public sector.
“Professional scepticism is arguably more
important in the public sector,” she says.
“The risks can be different because of the
nature of the activity, but they are no lower.
Public money deserves the same rigour as
private capital, arguably more so, because
citizens do not get to choose where their
taxes go. The absence of a profit motive
does not remove the need for scepticism.”
PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY
In the glass house that is the ANAO, an
organisation that is very much expected to be
at the top of its game as it audits others, it is
not terribly difficult to attract excellent staff.
The organisation naturally appeals to
people of high integrity, as well as “really
strong technical and analytical capability,
curiosity, good judgement and the ability
to communicate complex ideas clearly,”
McLiesh says.
“We do not measure our success in profit
or market share, but in trust and impact.
Our auditors — and those who come from
other backgrounds such as engineering
and learn what we do — are motivated
by integrity, evidence and real-world
outcomes. For those people, [the ANAO]
is an incredibly rewarding place with
a huge variety of work, from cybersecurity
to climate reporting, health, defence,
education and more.”
Just as talented people enable ANAO's
work, technology also plays an increasingly
important role. Artificial intelligence (AI),
for example, helps to empower the audit
function and represents an opportunity,
if managed well.
“It can enhance our ability to analyse big
datasets and detect anomalies or map risks,”
she says. “It does not replace humans or the
core disciplines of independence, scepticism
and evidence-based reasoning, but I can
see more of our work being automated.”
McLiesh says guardrails are essential
when adopting and employing AI, including
strong controls to manage risk, avoid bias
and ensure the ability to understand and
explain complex models. As it does at the
ANAO, an organisation’s AI policy should
set clear principles and outline frameworks
for use in a disciplined manner.
In terms of her own human decision-making,
McLiesh has a clear and unambiguous process,
a steady compass and a relentless focus on
independence, evidence and impact. The tools
are modernising, the risks are shifting and
the workloads are intense — but the purpose
is constant.
“My responsibility is to provide the
Parliament and the public with an unfiltered
view, with pure transparency, on how the
system is performing and help to do it better.
Which, in the end, is really about valuing
and respecting people.” ■
READ
an article
about navigating
audit’s future
LISTEN
to a podcast
episode with
Dr Caralee McLiesh
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 17
