Annual Report 2008: Introduction
Structure and governance
Changes to our organisational structure
From 1 July 2008, our corporate services functions were consolidated under the leadership of the Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services. This group now includes Business Management Services, Finance and Planning, Enterprise Portfolio Management, Enterprise Architecture and all the functions that were previously in People, Capabilities and Governance.
Under the new structure, Corporate Services brings our end-to-end planning and resource allocation together, along with the delivery of specialist services and advice to the wider organisation. Business Development and Systems now focuses on new and changing programmes and systems, high-volume operations, information technology, as well as the long-term development of Inland Revenue to meet new and developing customer demands.
Senior management appointments
Mary Craig was appointed Deputy Commissioner, People, Capabilities and Governance in January 2008. This designation was changed to Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services in July 2008 as a result of the change to our organisational structure.
Colin MacDonald (previously Deputy Commissioner, Business Development and Systems) was appointed Chief Executive of Land Information New Zealand in June 2008. The recruitment process for a new Deputy Commissioner, Business Development and Systems, is under way.
Governance
This section sets out Inland Revenue’s accountability and governance arrangements.
Accountability to Parliament
On 14 November 2007, we attended a Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC) hearing for the Financial Review of our 2006-07 Annual Report.
We provided written answers to the FEC on 23 June 2008 for its review of the 2008-09 Estimates for Vote Revenue. We were not asked to attend a hearing for the 2008-09 Estimates examination.
We attended and provided advice for FEC meetings considering tax and other legislation related to our areas of responsibility.
You can view the related FEC reports on the Select Committee website at www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/SC/Reports
Internal governance
Our internal governance arrangements are built around internal boards and committees which oversee all our responsibilities.
The Commissioner chairs two governance boards which meet monthly:
- Executive Board - reviews and determines longer-term strategy, manages strategic risks, assesses progress towards our desired future, and promotes high standards of ethics and integrity.
- Management Board - focuses on strategy implementation and setting and monitoring operational performance, including business outcomes and outputs, performance risks, approval of major projects and engagement survey results.
Three committees support the governance boards:
- Project Governance and Investment Committee - oversees the initiation and implementation of significant projects. The committee meets monthly.
- Technical Governance Committee - coordinates identification, consideration and resolution of important technical matters, especially but not exclusively, related to tax. The committee meets monthly.
- Risk and Assurance Committee - has seven members, at least three of whom are external to Inland Revenue, including the Chair. It meets quarterly, and provides the Commissioner with independent advice on the effective and efficient discharge of his statutory and governance responsibilities and accountabilities.
Projects are governed through steering committees, which apply a project management methodology to ensure that risks to successful implementation are identified and mitigated.
Risk management
We identify and manage risk through our risk management framework.
Risk management framework
This framework is built around the AS/NZS 4360 Risk Management Standard, which focuses on identifying, analysing and managing risks. The framework:
- is integrated into our planning methodology
- applies to strategic and operational initiatives and projects - see "Managing risks to revenue and compliance"
- allows us to identify and evaluate organisational risks and opportunities and develop mitigation strategies
- includes a strong assurance focus that supports a number of the governance committees in fulfilling their roles.
Managing risks to revenue and compliance
We manage risks to revenue and compliance partly through our corporate strategies, which support our approach to delivering services and initiatives to improve compliance. Risk management is integrated into our organisational planning framework, our annual business planning and our work programmes (see figure 16).
We have identified a number of risk areas and introduced a work programme to address them, for example:
- property transactions - we began research in this area during 2006-07 and further activity, including taxpayer education and audits, continued throughout 2007-08
- aggressive tax issues - ongoing work to address complex financial transactions (particularly the use of hybrid financial instruments), lease provisions (including the use of cross-border leases) and investor schemes.
Risks related to international tax issues and globalisation are also prioritised and managed through our links with international organisations (such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and other tax authorities and our policy and operational responses.
Date published: 15 May 2009
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