MPs heard that local audit needs a fresh start to clear the backlog and return to timely account sign-off, but were warned that such a move would be risky.
The huge backlog of unaudited local government accounts has ramifications across government, including for entire departments and the NHS, the head of the NAO has warned.
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.
Low capacity in council finance teams and the failure to deal with historic accounting issues mean the current September audit deadline is unlikely to be met, local auditors Grant Thornton have...
A further delay to adopting local authority reporting regulations relating to investments is welcome, but the rules need to come into force at some point to avoid undermining transparency, CIPFA has...
Accountants have warned that progress on local audit reforms will stall without further improvements to the audit market and capacity in council finance teams.
The failure to provide adequate records and working papers in Slough Borough Council’s 2018-19 statement of accounts has prompted its external auditors to issue an unprecedented opinion.
Disagreement over how to value Luton Borough Council’s subsidiary airport company means the authority’s 2018-19 accounts have not been signed off, and auditors are considering making a statutory...
A proposed temporary override to financial reporting on councils’ infrastructure has been welcomed by the sector as an opportunity to take a step back and sort out one of the major problems facing...
Local audit firms have been told by the Financial Reporting Council to “urgently” improve the quality and timeliness of their work, after the number of unacceptable audits rose last year.
Failures in the local audit market are leading to “increasingly incomplete and unreliable” data in central government reporting with councils left in the dark over spending decisions, the Public...
Culture is the “biggest thing” that needs to change to empower internal auditors in the public sector to make positive contributions to their organisations, according to speakers at Public Finance...
Panellists at Public Finance Live agreed something needs to change to speed up audit opinions being issued on council accounts, but were unsure whether giving auditors a statutory deadline is the...
Government work evaluating innovative programmes in children’s social care has been praised as exemplary, with the National Audit Office saying it “will be of value to other departments”.
