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The drive to recruit a new watchdog to keep an eye on the public purse cost nearly £40,000, with almost all of the original budget for the task going on consultants’ fees, it has emerged.
The Jersey Audit Office (JAO) - an independent body tasked with ensuring the government spends responsibly - went over budget by £8,200 when recruiting a new Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).
The recently published C&AG Annual Report and Accounts show that finding a replacement for Karen McConnell, who left the role late last year, was originally budgeted at £31,000, but the office ended up spending £39,200 on the recruitment drive, which resulted in current current C&AG Lynn Pamment being appointed in January.
£30,000 of this money - 96% of the original budget - was spent hiring a specialist recruitment consultancy firm, Saxton Bampfylde, to oversee the process.
Pictured: Overall, the recruitment drive cost £39,200 (C&AG Annual Accounts 2019).
Asked for clarity on the spend by Express, a JAO spokesperson commented: “Through a competitive procurement process, a specialist Executive Search Firm, Saxton Bampfylde, were appointed to manage the assignment.”
Based both in London and Edinburgh, the recruitment consultants organised the drive, whittling 90 candidates – both from Jersey and elsewhere – down to just five candidates selected for interview.
Outlining this process, the spokesperson told Express: “Close to 90 on- and off-island candidates were targeted in the initial search, which produced a long list of 17 candidates for first consideration. Independent technical assessments were conducted by the Auditor General for Scotland and, in agreement with the panel, five candidates were shortlisted for final interview.
“All candidates were taken through psychometric assessments and made presentations as part of the interview process along with formal questioning from the interview panel."
In terms of where the £39,200 was spent during this process, the JAO confirmed that the spend was as follows:
Asked why the process went over budget, the JAO said: “The second, third and fourth elements of expenditure are difficult to predict in advance of the process itself, as they are dependent upon where to advertise and the number of candidates who come forward. All of the associated assessment processes based on those candidate numbers have an impact on budget requirements.”
Pictured: Ultimately, Lynn Pamment was appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General.
The report shows that the overspend contributed to additional costs in the overall C&AG budget, totalling £29,100. This was ultimately offset by savings made by the office during the year and some contingency funding from the Treasurer, leading to a break-even as reported in the States’ Accounts. However, due to “additional minor in-year adjustments” between December 2018 and December 2019, the office reported a total overspend of £6,700.
In his foreword to the Annual Report, Chairman of the JAO's Board of Governance Peter Price praised the “low cost” at which the office’s work was carried out in 2019.
“The accounts show that this work has been achieved at remarkably low cost, if you compare output and expenditure with those of audit offices in other small territories. They also demonstrate compliance with all the appropriate accounting practices. The role of the Board of Governance is to scrutinise the use of resources by the C&AG with a view to ensuring that they are used ‘properly, efficiently and effectively’," he commented.
Asked whether Jersey's costs of recruiting a C&AG had been compared with other jurisdictions, the JAO spokesperson said: “The JAO benchmarks its activities wherever possible; but information on C&AG recruitment in other jurisdictions is not readily publicly available.”
Aside from financial information, the C&AG's Annual Report also outlines work carried out by the office last year and looks ahead to upcoming projects.
In her new role, Ms Pamment sets four priorities for the work of the C&AG:
Of the current health crisis, Ms Pamment wrote: “My workplan for 2020 has been impacted inevitably by the coronavirus pandemic. It is encouraging that the JAO team is showing resilience at this time through remote working and a focus on areas that minimise the burden on already stretched officers in Jersey.”
Among her key areas of scrutiny this year will be the government's handling of the covid-19 crisis. She will begin gathering information this summer.
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