Forsyths
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Local Government Assurance.
Regional Councils face regional challenges. Your Internal Auditor should understand both.
At Forsyths, we live and work in regional communities. We understand the pressures facing rural and regional councils because they are the same communities in which we work, raise families, support local businesses and rely on local services.Many regional councils operate in an environment shaped by demographic change, slower economic growth, ageing infrastructure and a rate base that does not always keep pace with community needs. At the same time, community expectations continue to grow, while councils increasingly rely on grant funding, careful long-term planning and the efficient use of limited resources to deliver services and maintain critical infrastructure.
These realities influence how regional councils operate and create a risk profile that is distinct from metropolitan organisations.
We Understand the Challenges Behind the Risks
- Financial sustainability and long-term planning
- Asset management and infrastructure renewal
- Workforce capability and succession planning
- Key person dependency
- Grant funding and project delivery
- Procurement and contractor management
- Governance and regulatory accountability
- Cyber security and technology resilience
- Community expectations and service delivery
- Community resilience and disaster recovery.
Delivering practical outcomes for Regional Councils
From managing ageing infrastructure and financial sustainability pressures to strengthening governance and risk management, regional councils operate in a complex and increasingly demanding environment. Our work is focused on delivering practical outcomes that help councils make better decisions, manage risk effectively and continue delivering services that matter to their communities.
The following case studies demonstrate how we have helped regional councils achieve meaningful improvements across risk management, asset management and procurement governance.
Enterprise Risk Management
Regional NSW Council
Challenge
Council sought to improve the quality, consistency and usefulness of its enterprise risk register and strengthen risk ownership across the organisation following the implementation of a new risk management system.
Our Approach
Forsyths facilitated structured risk workshops with management and risk owners to review risk ownership, controls, risk ratings and treatment actions. Risks were assessed, challenged and updated directly within Council's risk management system to ensure alignment with operational realities.
Outcome
The project delivered a more comprehensive and consistent enterprise risk register, improved accountability for risk ownership and stronger alignment between Council's risk management framework and day-to-day operations.
Asset Management
Regional NSW Council
Challenge
Council manages a significant portfolio of community infrastructure and sought assurance that its asset management framework, governance arrangements and supporting systems were capable of supporting informed decision-making and long-term sustainability.
Our Approach
Forsyths conducted a review of asset management governance, enterprise asset management systems, asset management plans, asset data and supporting processes to assess the effectiveness of Council's overall asset management framework.
Outcome
The review identified opportunities to strengthen governance oversight, improve asset information and support more effective long-term infrastructure planning and investment decisions.
Procurement Governance
Regional NSW Council
Challenge
Council sought assurance that procurement activities were being undertaken consistently, transparently and in accordance with procurement policies, procedures and legislative requirements.
Our Approach
Forsyths applied data analytics across procurement transactions to identify potential control weaknesses, compliance issues and unusual purchasing patterns. This was supported by a review of procurement policies, procedures and controls, together with targeted compliance testing and stakeholder consultation.
Outcome
The engagement identified practical opportunities to strengthen procurement governance, improve process consistency and support greater transparency, accountability and value-for-money outcomes.
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