Most Welsh councils failed to prepare their draft Whole of Government Accounts returns on time, a situation the auditor general called ‘very disappointing’.
In his annual report on local authority accounts, Huw Vaughan Thomas said that, overall, councils in Wales had prepared timely annual accounts and supporting working papers.
But he singled out tardy preparation of draft WGA returns as an area for criticism.
‘This situation was very disappointing as there was an expectation that authorities would do better this year,’ he said.
However, the report did acknowledge that most authorities did manage to complete their final returns by the required date.
The auditor general added: ‘There remains scope to clarify accounting treatment in a number of areas such as accounting for schools.
‘Other notable areas requiring attention are valuation methodologies for council houses, where currently inconsistent valuation techniques are applied from council to council, and the restoration of landfill sites, which has not been recognised on a consistent basis across Wales.’
Unqualified audit opinions were issued on all authorities bar the City and County of Swansea, which remains the subject of discussions between the auditor and the council.
The bodies covered by the report comprised 22 councils, three fire and rescue authorities, four police authorities and three national park authorities.
