At Hilltops Council’s Wednesday meeting, they were presented with their audited financial statements.
Reiky Liang said during her presentation, “In terms of this year’s audit work program, there are five key themes. The first one is efficiency and the optimal use of public resources. We are particularly interested in procurement, contract and project management, use of consultants and contractors. We aim to identify any potential ways of using public resources.
“We also continue to focus on grant administration, exploring the governance of grant funding. We plan to look at several major capital projects with the lands to governance, procurement, contract management, and value for money.
“Another focus area is climate-related risks and opportunities, driven by the New South Wales Government’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
“Last but not least, we’ll continue to progress our First Nations performance audit program, which was established in 2022. It aims to drive tangible changes and improve outcomes for our First Nations communities.
“In terms of the financial orders specifically, our areas of focus include financial reporting, financial sustainability, particularly around identifying any early warning signs, effectiveness of internal controls, and governance frameworks.
“In relation to performance audits, this line and the next summarise the performance audits.
“In terms of the plan performance audits for local government for the next three years, we plan to look at long-term financial planning. We plan to conduct a series of audits that evaluate the effectiveness of long-term financial plans across a number of councils. We plan to look at the effectiveness of audit risk and improvement committees, and also performance management and monitoring, particularly around the IP and R compliance.
“We plan to look at several major capital projects to assess the effectiveness of councils in overseeing those projects. We also plan to look at climate risk, adaptation and waste management.
“In terms of the focused areas for this year’s local government sector report, this report is currently being drafted for the 24-25 financial year audit, and it’s likely to be tabled in the new year.
“Some of the key focus areas for this year’s report include financial audit outcomes, financial sustainability, IT cyber security, and artificial intelligence, and we will also be looking at several major projects and the common themes across the sector in relation to internal controls and governance.”
Irene Tzawaras took the stage next during the presentation, saying, “The rates and annual charges revenue increased by 4.9% to 28 million, which was mainly due to the rate peg increase of 5.1% grants and contributions revenue decreased by 2.7 million, mainly due to a decrease in grants recognised for natural disasters, infrastructure, and community programs, and also receiving less financial assistance grants in advance this year compared to the year before.
“Council reported an operating result of 8.7 million for the current year. This was 6.2 million lower than the 2024 year, and much of this decrease was due to the decrease in grants and contributions revenue, as well as the increase in employee-related expenses. After deducting capital grants and contributions, the net operating result before capital grants and contributions reduced to a “deficit of 12.3 million compared to a 6.6 million deficit in the year before.”
“Looking at the cash position, Council had a total cash and investments balance of $52.3 million, which decreased by $11.7 million over the prior year. Externally restricted cash and investments increased slightly, while internal allocations decreased marginally compared to 2024.
“This graph shows the sources of externally restricted cash, cash equivalents, and investments. This year, 41.1 million of the Council’s cash was externally restricted. And this mainly consists of water and sewer funds, developer contributions, and regional waste management. At 30 June 2025, Council reported a positive cash balance after restrictions of 11.3 million, which was a decrease of 13.6 million compared to 2024.
“Council renewed 33.5 million of infrastructure, property, plant, and equipment during the 25 years. This was mainly spent on roads and the repair of assets damaged by natural disasters. A further $2.6 million was spent on new assets, including storm water drainage and land improvements.”
– Jack Murray
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