| SPOTLIGHT |
Auditing firm Grant Thornton has warned of “a significant risk for governance and control” caused by delays in publishing local government audited accounts.
In a report, About Time? Exploring the reasons for delayed publication of audited local authority accounts, on the challenges in local audit, the firm noted that these delays had increased significantly. In December 2022 there were more than 600 local audit opinions outstanding.
“This means that many stakeholders can't rely on audited accounts to inform decision making,” Grant Thornton said.
Mark Stocks, Partner and Head of Public Sector Assurance at Grant Thornton, and John Farrar, Director and Head of Public Sector Financial Reporting, said the timely release of audited accounts was vital to public sector governance arrangements, adding that key stakeholders needed the numbers for future budgeting and decision making.
They added: “Local authority accounts are becoming increasingly complex as accounting standards evolve and local authorities enter more and more innovative financing arrangements and income generation projects.”
Stocks and Farrar suggested that a significant challenge in managing local audits was the differing needs of various stakeholders.
“The local government sector, central government and regulators need to agree on the purpose of local audit and find a consensus on improving efficiency in publishing accounts,” they said.
“These delays are exacerbated by capacity constraints in both local auditors and local government. A new workforce strategy is being developed by the director of local audit at the Financial Reporting Council, but improving the attractiveness of a career in local audit and local authority accounting will require a lot of focus.”
The report covers:
It is available to download here.
