Committees

Timeliness of local auditor reporting on local government in England

Inquiry

In 2019‑20, 487 local bodies including local councils, local police and local fire bodies in England spent nearly £100 billion delivering local public services that residents, businesses and taxpayers rely on every day.Proper accounting with high quality audit is essential for public trust in how taxpayers’ money is spent. Each year, external auditors audit local bodies’ financial statements and provide their opinion on whether they present a true and fair view of their financial position; whether proper arrangements are in place to secure value for money; and if there are any matters to which they wish to draw attention to users of the financial statements.

Service demands on local bodies have increased considerably due to the covid-19 pandemic. Whilst this has had an impact on the audit of local bodies, the pandemic has also exacerbated long-standing problems in the audit landscape as fees have decreased, audit demands increased and the commercial attractiveness of the work for audit firms has declined. 

This inquiry will examine the timeliness of auditor reporting on English local public bodies’ financial statements covering 2019-20. The NAO’s recent report, on which this inquiry is based, found that “delays in the delivery of audit opinions beyond the deadlines for publishing local authority accounts, alongside concerns about audit quality and doubts over audit firms’ willingness to continue to audit local public bodies, highlight that the situation needs urgent attention.”  

The Committee will question senior officials at MHCLG. If you have evidence on the timeliness, quality or impact of local government audits in England, please submit it here by 6pm on Thursday 13 May.

Upcoming events

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No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Thursday 20 May 2021
9:15am Private
10:00am Public
Timeliness of local auditor reporting on local government in England - Oral evidence 20 May 2021
10:00am
  • Jeremy Pocklington CB (Permanent Secretary at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)
  • Catherine Frances (Director General, Local Government and Public Services at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)
  • Tony Crawley (Chief Executive at Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Monday 17 May 2021
1:45pm Private
2:30pm Public
Timeliness of local auditor reporting on local government in England - Oral evidence 17 May 2021
2:30pm
  • Janet Dawson (UK Government and Public Services Assurance Leader at Ernst and Young)
  • Mark Stocks (Head of Public Sector Assurance at Grant Thornton)
  • Fiona Baldwin (Head of Audit at Grant Thornton)
4:00pm
  • Sir Tony Redmond (Author Independent Review into the Oversight of Local Audit and the Transparency of Local Authority Financial Reporting at Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA))
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House

Contact us

  • Email: pubaccom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: 020 7219 5776 (general enquiries) | 020 7219 8480 (media enquiries)
  • Address: Public Accounts Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA