Fixing the English local government audit crisis for good could take “radical” ideas, and those involved in reform are willing to consider them, Public Finance Live heard.
A package of 16 commitments to reform the “fragmented and broken” English local audit system has been unveiled by local government minister Jim McMahon.
The Local Audit Office will not be able to force councils to amend their accounts in response to auditor concerns, the government has confirmed following fears over the body’s independence and...
Fees for local government audits will rise by 9.5%, the body responsible for setting them has said while insisting measures to address the crisis in the system must make audit work more proportionate...
Luton Borough Council has hit back after its external auditor claimed the authority cannot produce accurate accounts, criticising the report as “full of factual inaccuracies”.
Urgent action is needed to repair arrangements for external audit that have “fundamentally failed”, as well as to overhaul the “wasteful, unfair and ineffective” local government funding system,...
New backstop dates for local government audits will clear the backlog in the next few years, as part of government efforts to solve the problems plaguing the system of assurance in the sector.
The government’s mooted fix for the local audit backlog is being consulted on by the system leaders, with hopes of publishing more than 700 outstanding audits this year.
Signing off the mounting backlog of historical local authority audits could take up to five years as capacity issues restrict progress, an expert has told PF .
The high-profile failures of councils in Woking and Thurrock demonstrate the importance of a strong and well-understood local audit system, which has arguably been lost, two senior voices in the...
More needs to be done to make auditing an attractive and prestigious profession, and councils stand to benefit hugely if that is achieved, MPs have heard.
Whitehall's oversight of local government audit has become “increasingly complacent” and the proposed solution involves treating public audit as “an afterthought”, MPs have said.
From Universal Credit to Crossrail, local government finances to central government IT projects, the National Audit Office has shone a light on some of the biggest public finance challenges of recent...
An independent regulating body to oversee local audit would eliminate fragmentation in England and help restore trust, writes Joanna Pitt local government policy manager at CIPFA.
Wales has worked hard to ensure it has an audit system that can be relied upon and that continues to develop, writes Auditor General for Wales Adrian Crompton.
“Urgent improvement” is needed after a sharp rise in delayed audit opinions in local government, said the organisation that appoints auditors to 98% of council, police and fire authorities.
