Control de contaminantes en los productos alimenticios

The selection of AR index items of wastewater disclosures is based on the authoritative requirements derived from statutory requirements (Local Government Act 2002, Schedule 10, Part 3 (15(e))) and relevant GAAP (NZ IAS 1, NZ Framework), as discussed in chapter 2. In short, they are:

1. contains audited information on the comparison between targets (set out in LTCC) and actual levels of service; performance; as well as explanations for any significant variance from the comparison (Local Government Act, 2002, Schedule 10, part 3 (15(e));

2. reports on quantity, quality, time, location, and cost of the output or service delivery, if relevant (NZ IAS 1, para 126.4); and

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3. be relevant, reliable, comparable, and understandable (NZ Framework, paras 25-42 and TPA-9, paras 5.10-5.39).

Figure 2.1 illustrating the connection between the components of the authoritative requirements in the context of wastewater disclosures provides a model for the selection of the AR index items which are shown in Table 5.1. From Table 5.1, the AR items selected comprise 64 items in total, which are categorised according to the qualitative characteristics of relevance, comparability, understandability and reliability. There are 15 items categorized under relevance, 45 under comparability, 3 under understandability, and 1 under reliability. Relevance and comparability categories contain the details of each of the wastewater service‟s dimensions (quantity, quality, location, time, and cost).

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Table 5.1: Categories and items of the AR index Categories/Items

Relevance Comparability

Actual Quantity Target Quantity Explanation of sig.var. of Quantity, if any Past Quantity

Actual quantity of wastewater collection Target quantity of wastewater collection Explnt‟n of sig var of quantity of collection Past quantity of wastewater collection

Actual quantity of wastewater treatment Target quantity of wastewater treatment Explnt‟n of sig var of quantity of treatment Past quantity of wastewater treatment

Actual quantity of wastewater disposal Target quantity of wastewater disposal Explnt‟n of sig var of quantity of disposal Past quantity of wastewater disposal

Actual Quality Target Quality Explanation of sig.var. of Quality, if any Past Quality

Actual standards to be met Target standards to be met Explnt‟n of sig var of standards to be met Past standards to be met

Actual reliability of the service Target reliability of the service Explnt‟n of sig var of reliability of the service Past reliability of the service

Actual customers‟ satisfaction Target customers‟ satisfaction Explnt‟n of sig var of customers‟ satisfaction Past customers‟ satisfaction

Actual Location Target Location Explanation of sig.var. of Location, if any Past Location

Actual location of wastewater collection Target location of wastewater collection Explnt‟n of sig var of location of collection Past location of wastewater collection

Actual location of wastewater disposal Target location of wastewater disposal Explnt‟n of sig var of location of treatment Past location of wastewater treatment

Actual location of wastewater treatment Target location of wastewater treatment Explnt‟n of sig var of location of disposal Past location of wastewater disposal

Actual Time Target Time Explanation of sig.var. of Time, if any Past Time

Actual time compliance with milestones Target time compliance with milestones Explnt‟n of sig var of time compliance with milestones Past time compliance with milestones

Actual time response to incidents Target time response to incidents Explnt‟n of sig var of time response to incidents Past time response to incidents

Actual time of service availability Target time of service availability Explnt‟n of sig var of time of service availability Past time of service availability

Actual Cost Target Cost Explanation of sig.var. of Cost, if any Past Cost

Actual total cost of wastewater Target/budget total cost of wastewater Explnt‟n of sig var of total cost of wastewater Past total cost of wastewater

Actual cost of wastewater by direct/indirect cost Target cost of wastewater by direct/indirect cost Explnt‟n of sig var of wastewater by direct/indirect cost Past cost of wastewater by direct/ indirect cost

Actual cost of wastewater by system Target cost of wastewater by system Explnt‟n of sig var of cost of wastewater by system Past cost of wastewater by system

Understandability

Separate heading for wastewater disclosures Use of visual aids (tables or graphs) Explanation of technical terms, if any

Reliability

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Quantity of wastewater service is based on the three main operations of the wastewater system – wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal. Its items relate to:

1. length of reticulated pipe or number of pump stations;

2. number of treatment plants or capacity, amount of wastewater that a plant can take; and

3. amount of treated wastewater discharged to an outfall.

Quality of wastewater activity concerns the activity meeting the standards or legal requirements, reliability of the service provisions, and residents‟ satisfaction or dissatisfaction (complaints). Its items relate to:

1. level of compliance with relevant resource consent conditions;

2. number of blockages or overflows; and

3. number of complaints relating to odours from wastewater treatment facilities, or percentage of customer satisfaction with the service.

Location of wastewater activity refers to places where their collection, treatment, and disposal occur. Its items relate to:

1. suburb of wastewater pipelines or pump stations being installed or maintained;

2. suburb of wastewater treatment plants; and

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Time of wastewater activity is about the date of completion regarding wastewater activity, response time for a service, time availability of service. Its items relate to:

1. completion date to upgrade pipelines or pump stations;

2. percentage of emergency repairs attended to within one hour; and/or hours used to clear all sewer blockages; and

3. hours of service available or unavailable.

Cost of wastewater activities can be total operating expenses of wastewater, and their details, by direct or indirect costs, for the different operations of the wastewater system. Its items relate to:

1. total expenditure for wastewater activities;

2. overheads, interest, and depreciation expenses of wastewater activities; and

3. collecting, treating, and disposing expenses of wastewater activities or wastewater expenses of plants A, B, and C.

Using these wastewater dimensions, relevance and comparability items are formed. Understandability and reliability items will be based on all the wastewater disclosures.

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Relevance requires actual (present) performance of the reporting year.59 Therefore, the disclosure items relating to quantity, quality, location, time, and costs of wastewater activities are in their actual terms for the reporting year. Given three items in each dimension, there are 15 items in this category.

Comparability requires the presentation of target performance, explanation of significant variance, if any, between actual and target performance, and past performance. Targets of the 15 disclosure items relating to quantity, quality, location, time, and costs of wastewater activities are accounted for. Explanation is also needed of significant variance of the 15 disclosure items, relating to quantity, quality, location, time, and costs of wastewater activities. Variance arises when there are differences between the actual achievement and the target. Note that a difference above 10 percent is considered significant, for which explanation should be presented (Garrison, Noreen, & Brewer, 2006). Past performance of the 15 disclosure items, relating to quantity, quality, location, time, and costs of wastewater activities, is also accounted for. Note that in this research, „past‟ means prior year(s) beyond the year of the report. Given three aspects of comparability (targets, explanation of variance, and past) to be considered for each wastewater items, there is a maximum of 45 items in this category.

Understandability deals with the format and presentation of the information. Understandability items are a separate heading for wastewater services, and

59 _{Actual performance information provides more objective ground for relevant information than}

deciding on the logical link with an entity‟s objective, and if the information meets the demand of stakeholders.

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include visual aids (such as tables or graphs) for wastewater disclosures, and an explanation of technical terms, if any. Rutherford (2000) and Stanley, Jennings and Mack (2008) support that visual aids such as tables and graphs are found to be useful for annual report disclosures by public-sector entities.

Reliability can be assured by unqualified audit statements for SSPs. The reliability item is the audit statement that „service provision information presents fairly‟ in the audit report. Smith and Coy (2000), and Admiraal, Nivra and Turksema (2009) support that an audit report can provide a high level of assurance on the reliability of information. There is one item for this category.