16 October 2008
By David Scott in Edinburgh
The 'complex' structure of Scotland's public finance audit system is not widely understood and should be simplified, an influential commission has suggested.
Following a review of the structure of Audit Scotland, the Scottish Commission for Public Audit recommended that the auditor general for Scotland should include the role of controller of audit.
The controller is currently a separate post, reporting to the Accounts Commission, which is responsible for local government audit.
In a report published on October 10, the SCPA also proposed that the appointment of the auditor general should no longer be for life but for a single, non-renewable term of eight years.
It pointed out that the oversight of public sector audit in Scotland involved complex overlapping arrangements in a tripartite structure: the auditor general (responsible for the audit of central government and its public bodies), the Accounts Commission, and Audit Scotland, which serves both bodies.
It added: '[The SCPA] considers that greater transparency and public understanding could be achieved by an option such as the auditor general being the strategic figurehead responsible and accountable for the audit of all public bodies served by Audit Scotland, and with reporting lines to the Parliament's audit committee and to ministers.
'There appears no logical reason why the auditor general should not also have the function of controller of audit, or why the integrity of the different functions cannot be retained in a simplified structure.'
A spokesman for Audit Scotland said the body itself had called for the review following John Tiner's review of the National Audit Office's functions and operation in England.
He added that Audit Scotland would be discussing with the SCPA how to improve clarity about the role and responsibilities of its board, following a recommendation that these should be reviewed.
Audit Scotland argued that its structure was 'essentially very simple' but the SCPA contended that the current responsibilities 'are not clear or widely understood'.
It added: 'The Scottish Government and the Parliament should consider together how a more thorough review could be accommodated within forthcoming legislation.'
The SCPA also concluded that the functions and processes of the Accounts Commission should be retained within a simplified audit structure.
PFoct2008
