Sam Hayward

6.15 AM

A slow rise out of bed this morning after trivia last night went a little late! After a tasty breakfast, I play with my puppy Moseley and make sure I have everything I need for the day ahead.

6.45 AM

Living in the inner South I prefer to ride my bike to work (a morning challenge + save money on parking!) but this morning I am off to hike Red Hill with a friend, so I take the car. I am a big fan of Canberra — I love how quick and easy it is to be in nature.

8.00 AM

I had a great catch up with a friend and was able to get out and appreciate some lovely views across the ACT and see some wildlife. What a way to start the day!

Now it’s time to head to the office to shower and start the workday.

8.30 AM

I usually start the day by checking in with the team and reviewing emails to prepare for the day ahead. I work in one of the larger teams here at the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). The team is responsible for the Major Projects Report (MPR). Throughout the year our team travels across Australia (virtually in Covid times!) to meet with different project teams, which are delivering Australia’s biggest Defence acquisitions. The team looks at the performance for over 20 different projects. This puts us in a unique position to interview a wide range of staff and presents a diverse range of challenges that we work through as the year progresses.

9.00 AM

First up we have a progress review with the Auditor General and Deputy Auditor General. This is a great opportunity to discuss challenges, answer queries and receive feedback and advice on the progression of the report. As a graduate, being able to contribute meaningfully in a meeting like this is a real highlight.

11.00 AM

The meeting finishes and we head to a collaborative space for a quick debrief as a team to discuss points raised and any areas that require follow up. Now it’s back to the desk to review my sections for a meeting later in the week with the auditee. In the meeting, I will be leading discussions on schedule performance, milestones, and major project risks. Through this process I will be interviewing the team on areas I have discovered through my review, asking for evidence to support any milestones achieved and determining the risks to the completion of the project that may have arisen in the review year. As you can imagine, the nature of these projects is very complex so there are often a lot of issues that need to be discussed! I really enjoy meeting with the project teams. It provides a valuable opportunity to build a relationship with a group of people you will be working with several times throughout the year.

12.00 PM

The morning has flown by and I realize I am starving! I heat up my lunch in one of the three kitchens and head outside to eat and catch up with friends.

12.45 PM

Time to head back to the desk to respond to some emails and continue my project review.

1.30 PM

It’s time for a catch up with my manager. It’s a lovely day so we decide to go for a walk. These catch ups tend to be weekly or fortnightly and are a great way to chat about my progress, the upcoming workload, give and receive feedback and an opportunity to talk about non-work-related things too!

2.15 PM

I am now headed to visit an auditee’s project team to view some evidence with a colleague following our meeting with them yesterday. A lot of the evidence we view can be sent digitally, however, this evidence has a ‘secret’ designation which means it can only be viewed on the auditee’s premises.

4.00 PM

We are back in time to join the team meeting. Our team is very collaborative, we have a series of informal and one formal meetings throughout the week. In our formal meetings we all start with a ‘reflection’ which is a great opportunity to reflect on the past week. This could be a lesson learned, a shoutout to a teammate, a highlight, or a challenge. We work through the meeting agenda and then finish with a riddle or a joke. We rotate who chairs the formal meeting each week which gives everyone the opportunity to bring their own creativity to the meeting. Recently we have decided that whoever chairs the meeting gets to choose a theme for what the team will wear on Friday. This was particularly fun during the lockdown!

4.45 PM

It’s time to pack up the desk and put my things in the locker. It’s home time! I’m playing handball tonight, so I head home for a quick dinner with my partner.

6.00 PM

Time to leave for handball! If you haven’t played handball before I would highly recommend it. I just started and love it! Canberra Handball are a very welcoming group. There are plenty of social and sporting groups to get involved in here! The drive only takes 10-15 minutes. I didn’t grow up in Canberra, but I am now very much used to the lack of commute time. If it takes more than 15 minutes to drive I have serious second thoughts on whether I need to make the trip!

7.45 PM

After Handball I head to the lake for a short walk with my partner to walk Moseley. He loves getting out just as much as we do!

9.30 PM

After streaming a show or doing some reading it’s time to get some much-needed sleep!