By Alex Klaushofer
09 July 2009
The Audit Commission is to subsidise the increased costs of public sector audits brought about by new reporting standards, it has confirmed.
The commission launched a consultation on the scale of fees it is proposing for 2010/11 and estimated fees for 2011/12 and 2012/13 on July 7. It announced its intention to increase the subsidy it had already offered public bodies to help meet the costs of introducing International Financial Reporting Standards.
The subsidy – which will come out of the commission’s reserves – will now be 6% for councils, police and fire services, and 8% for local government pension funds.
This will bring the average increase in audit fees for councils, police and fire services in 2010/11 to 1.25%.
‘The commission is committed to keeping fee increases as low as possible,’ said Audit Commission chair Michael O’Higgins. ‘However, the introduction of IFRS means that we have to pass on the costs of additional work by our auditors. But the commission is holding these increases to less than half the level of the private sector.’
The consultation closes on September 4, ahead of the publication of the final fee scales by the end of October.
The commission also announced that it will double the time that local partnerships have to ask for a review when the judgements under the new Comprehensive Area Assessment regime are published in December.
Areas awarded a red flag – indicating poor performance – will now have ten days to ask for a review.
09 July 2009
The Audit Commission is to subsidise the increased costs of public sector audits brought about by new reporting standards, it has confirmed.
The commission launched a consultation on the scale of fees it is proposing for 2010/11 and estimated fees for 2011/12 and 2012/13 on July 7. It announced its intention to increase the subsidy it had already offered public bodies to help meet the costs of introducing International Financial Reporting Standards.
The subsidy – which will come out of the commission’s reserves – will now be 6% for councils, police and fire services, and 8% for local government pension funds.
This will bring the average increase in audit fees for councils, police and fire services in 2010/11 to 1.25%.
‘The commission is committed to keeping fee increases as low as possible,’ said Audit Commission chair Michael O’Higgins. ‘However, the introduction of IFRS means that we have to pass on the costs of additional work by our auditors. But the commission is holding these increases to less than half the level of the private sector.’
The consultation closes on September 4, ahead of the publication of the final fee scales by the end of October.
The commission also announced that it will double the time that local partnerships have to ask for a review when the judgements under the new Comprehensive Area Assessment regime are published in December.
Areas awarded a red flag – indicating poor performance – will now have ten days to ask for a review.
