Organisations need to take decisive action to improve the scope and role of internal audit, to avoid weakening risk-management and oversight, says Diana Melville.
The government is set to make it a statutory requirement for councils in England to have independent members on audit committees as part of local audit reforms.
A lack of funding for staff development and challenges around the recruitment of new officers is preventing the internal audit function from reaching its full potential, according to a CIPFA report.
CIPFA has welcomed government proposals to take greater intervention powers over council finances, saying they could help identify potential problems at an earlier stage.
Nottingham City Council will terminate a contract with a subsidiary company managing its housing stock, after an external investigation found it misspent millions of pounds of authority funding.
Two councils planning to end a joint management arrangement lack detail over the anticipated costs, and need to focus on appointing a section 151 officer, according to a CIPFA report.
Logistical and software issues are likey to make it challenging for councils to deliver the government’s £150 council tax rebates to help consumers with soaring energy prices, according to CIPFA.
The average amount of gross external borrowing by local authorities in England fell in 2020-21, as borrowing restrictions and Covid-19 impacted the sector, according to CIPFA's latest update of its...
Copeland Borough Council is at risk of issuing a section 114 notice unless it receives further exceptional support, according to a government-commissioned review.
An accounting blunder saw Nottingham City Council mistakenly credit almost £16m of housing funding to its general fund rather than its housing revenue account, it has emerged.
The government has appointed two senior local government officials as commissioners to oversee the financial recovery of cash-strapped Slough Borough Council, following two critical independent...
Wirral Council has approved a financial recovery plan which includes suspending a planned £5m investment to create a community bank, following a critical government-commissioned review.
The government should not provide additional financial flexibilites to Peterborough City Council unless it offloads at least £43.5m of property, according to a review by CIPFA.
Members at some larger local authorities are keen for staff to return to office working to help mitigate losses to regional economies, CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman told delegates to his...
CIPFA has praised Slough Borough Council’s finance director on the decision to publish a section 114, freezing all non-essential spending as the authority attempts to balance its budget.
