Accounts and annual reports from public bodies are becoming more transparent and accessible, says a National Assembly for Wales committee.
The Public Accounts Committee has been examining the 2015-16 accounts of five public sector organisations - the Welsh Government, National Assembly for Wales Commission, Estyn, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), and Careers Wales.
This follows on from work undertaken by the previous committee to scrutinise accounts over the past two years.
The Committee found that, in the main, it is becoming easier to understand where taxpayers’ money is being spent and how effective it was.
Concerns were raised though about the ability of some bodies to plan long term, particularly in the case of Estyn, which is unable to retain funds and so cannot identify savings to address future budget reductions.
The Committee believes the ability to plan over the medium term is beneficial and, while members understood the constraints that exist on the Welsh Government in terms of budget allocation, they urge the Welsh Government to facilitate the need to plan over a longer period than annually.
The Committee also explored approaches to voluntary severance across the organisations, concluding that the use of these schemes must be evaluated on more than cost savings, and consideration must be given to the wider impact on teams.
Recording of sickness absence also came under scrutiny with the Committee recommending the Welsh Government share best practice on sickness reporting after finding it difficult to make accurate comparisons in absence rates between different organisations.
“The Committee is content that progress is being made in the reporting of clear and accessible accounts by public sector organisations,” said Nick Ramsay AM, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.
“We hope that our work in scrutinising these accounts, along with the work of our predecessor committee, has a 'deterrent' effect in ensuring that publicly funded organisations in Wales feel pressure at all levels to ensure tax payers' money is being spent in the most effective way possible.
“While our inquiry focused primarily on the education sector this year, we would hope that all public sectors take note of our recommendations and adopt a transparent approach to their own accounts going forward.”