Integrated Planning and Reporting Manual - Division of Local ...

4. THE DELIVERY PROGRAM
4.9 Monitoring progress
Local Government Act
The General Manager must ensure that progress reports are provided to the council, with respect to the
principal activities detailed in the Delivery Program, at least every 6 months.
As Council implements its Delivery Program and Operational Plan activities, it will need to keep
track of progress. Are activities being delivered within the planned timeframes and budgets Has
anything happened that might affect the various activities
Under the previous Management Plan requirements, the General Manager prepared quarterly
reports for Council on progress. The new framework still requires quarterly reporting on the budget
in the Operational Plan, but it is up to Council to decide the format and extent of that reporting. The
minimum standard is ‘exception reporting’ on the budget – highlighting only the issues that are not
running to time or budget. Some councils use ‘traffic light’ reports for their various activities, others
have a system of ‘cockpit charts’. The minimum standard for the Delivery Program is six-monthly
progress reporting.
When deciding on the level of reporting, it is important to remember that these reports will be
publicly available documents, included in the council business paper. They should be in a clear and
easy to read format.
DLG is preparing a Quarterly Reporting Template for use by councils which will be incorporated into
the May 2010 edition of the Local Government Code of Accounting Practice and Financial
Reporting.
Planning & Reporting Manual Page 98 of 115