🌟 Audit Office of South Australia: Your Inside Track to a Career That Counts 🌟

Jun 06, 2025

With just a few minutes’ reading, discover why the newly-rebranded Audit Office of South Australia (AOSA) is one of the smartest—and most secure—places to build a public-sector career. Whether you’re fresh out of school, pivoting from the private sector, or a seasoned professional chasing promotion, this quick-start guide distils the 2023-24 Annual Report into job-hunters’ gold. Let’s dive in.

AT-A-GLANCE

• Name of Department / Council: Audit Office of South Australia (formerly Auditor-General’s Department)
• Location: Level 9, State Administration Centre, 200 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000 (state-wide audit reach)
• CEO: Auditor-General Andrew Blaskett (commenced January 2024)
• Total Revenue: ≈ $19.2 million in 2023-24 appropriations & other income
• Total Number of Employees: 128 (as at 30 June 2024)

DID YOU KNOW? 🤔

Last year AOSA delivered 14 separate reports to Parliament and provided independent assurance over 176 public-sector financial statements—proof of its pivotal watchdog role in South Australia’s $70 billion-plus government ecosystem.

THE QUALIFICATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, TRADES, PROFESSIONS, WORK EXPERIENCES & SKILLS MOST SUITED TO AOSA

Top 5 academic qualifications most suited

Bachelor of Commerce / Accounting – underpins statutory financial audits.
Bachelor of Information Technology / Computer Science – vital for data analytics & cyber-focused audit work.
Bachelor of Business / Economics – strengthens performance-audit capabilities.
Graduate Diploma (CA ANZ) / CPA Program – meets professional-standards obligations for audit sign-off.
Master of Public Administration – equips leaders to navigate government frameworks.

Top 5 certifications most suited

Chartered Accountant (CA) – demonstrates technical audit proficiency.
Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) – broadens financial-management credibility.
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) – supports ICT and cyber audits.
PRINCE2 / AgilePM – helps manage complex, multi-agency audit projects.
Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Certification – aligns with controls-opinion work.

Top 5 trades / professions most suited

External Auditor / Assurance Professional – core departmental function.
Data Analyst / Data Scientist – fuels the office’s expanding analytics strategy.
IT Security Specialist – safeguards sensitive audit evidence and systems.
Financial Accountant – translates complex ledger data into audit insights.
Project Manager – coordinates statewide audit programs and performance reviews.

Top 5 skills most suited

Critical thinking – separates signal from noise in vast data sets.
Stakeholder engagement – balances independence with constructive client relationships.
Report writing – converts technical findings into clear, value-adding insights.
Risk assessment – pinpoints material misstatements and control gaps.
Data visualisation – transforms findings into interactive dashboards for Parliament.

Top 5 work experiences most suited

Public-practice audit engagements – mirror the legislative mandate AOSA fulfils.
ERP system implementations – deepen understanding of large-scale controls.
Government policy analysis – supports performance-audit lines of inquiry.
Cyber-security incident response – informs IT-general-controls testing.
Financial modelling & analytics – enhances audit sampling and fraud-indicator detection.

THE KEY FACTS

• Name of Department: Audit Office of South Australia
• Name of CEO: Auditor-General Andrew Blaskett
• Location: Primarily Adelaide CBD, but audits occur state-wide
• Year Founded: 1850s origins, operating under the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987
• Main mission and purpose of the organisation: To provide independent assurance to Parliament that public resources are managed transparently and lawfully. Example: Their 2024 report on Urban Tree Canopy Management spotlighted gaps in greening targets, driving council-level action.
• Main duties of the organisation: Conducting financial statement, controls-opinion and performance audits across 170 + agencies. Example: The 2024 audit of the Education Management System project helped avert cost overruns and data-security risks.
• Key Projects, Strategic Priorities, Future Plans:

Roll-out of a three-year communications strategy to widen public impact.
Expansion of in-house data-analytics tools to detect fraud indicators.
ICT security hardening and modernisation of audit systems.

THE EMPLOYEES & REVENUE

• Total Employees: 128 (124 FTE establishment).
• Executive Levels: 1 CEO, 5 SAES Level 1, 1 SAES Level 2.
• Salary Bands (indicative SA Public Sector ranges):

Graduate Auditor (ASO2): ≈ $56k – $61k
Auditor (ASO3/ASO4): ≈ $63k – $84k
Senior Auditor / Team Lead (PO2/PO3): ≈ $90k – $115k
Audit Manager (PO4/SAES1): ≈ $123k – $155k
Executive Director / Deputy Auditor-General (SAES2): ≈ $175k +
• Average salary: ~ $100k (mid-point of auditor cohort).
• Total Revenue (2023-24): ≈ $19.2 million
• Average Revenue per Employee: ≈ $150 k

GETTING A JOB AT AOSA 🏃‍♂️💼

Which Academic Subjects Are Most Sought After?

Certificate / Diploma Level:
• Certificate IV in Accounting & Bookkeeping – supports audit support roles.
• Diploma of Information Technology – feeds cyber-audit talent pipeline.

Bachelor / Master Level:
• Accounting, Finance, Commerce, Economics
• Information Systems / Cyber Security
• Data Science / Analytics
• Public Policy & Management

PhDs:
• Econometrics, Statistics or Information Assurance research that strengthens advanced audit methodologies.

Which Trades and Professions?

• Qualified Accountants (CA/CPA)
• IT Auditors & Penetration Testers
• Data Scientists familiar with R/Python
• Project Managers with Prince2/Agile credentials
• Policy Analysts experienced in program evaluation

Which Work Experiences?

• External audit or assurance engagements
• Large ERP or finance-system implementations
• Government budgeting & appropriation cycles
• Cyber-security incident response
• Data-visualisation projects for executive audiences

Which Skills?

Soft skills: stakeholder communication, critical enquiry, presentation, teamwork, ethical judgement.
Technical skills: IFRS/AASB knowledge, SQL, Power BI/Tableau, ACL/IDEA, cyber-risk frameworks.
General skills: time management, attention to detail, report drafting, legislative compliance, continuous improvement mindset.

Hobbies & Interests That Align

• Community volunteering (mirrors organisational integrity values)
• Coding or data-visualisation side projects
• Debating / public speaking (sharpens argumentation for audit reports)
• Financial-literacy advocacy or mentoring
• Environmental auditing or citizen-science initiatives

WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THIS ORGANISATION? 📞

Audit Office of South Australia
• Address: Level 9, State Administration Centre, 200 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000
• Telephone: +61 8 8226 9640
• Email: enquiries@audit.sa.gov.au
• Job Vacancies: Check the I WORK FOR SA portal → https://iworkfor.sa.gov.au (filter for “Audit Office of South Australia”).
• Website: https://www.audit.sa.gov.au

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DISCLAIMER

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and is based on publicly available information, including annual reports. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the information on this article. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this article.

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