Title page
Contents
Summary 5
1. England's local government accountability system 6
1.1. The Local Government Accountability Framework 6
1.2. Best Value 8
1.3. OFLOG 9
2. Local audit structures 12
2.1. The requirements of local audit 12
2.2. Collective local audit procurement 13
Smaller authorities 14
2.3. Local government audit committees 14
2.4. Public rights 15
2.5. Accounts: publication and powers 16
2.6. Value for money 16
2.7. Public interest reports 19
2.8. Smaller bodies: exemption from routine audit 20
3. Local audit challenges in the 2020s 21
3.1. Audit delays 21
3.2. Action to tackle the audit backlog 22
Letters to House of Commons committees 23
3.3. Challenges faced by local auditors 24
Staff shortages 24
Valuation difficulties 24
Decline in firms in the local audit market 25
Audit fees and audit quality 25
Complexity of accounts 26
4. The auditors and the audited bodies 28
4.1. Audit firms 28
Circulation of auditors 29
4.2. Government reforms to public audit systems: 2020 onwards 30
5. Intervention in local government 33
5.1. Powers of intervention 33
5.2. Interventions 33
5.3. When do interventions take place? 34
5.4. Directions 35
Table 1. audit delays 21
Table 2. local authority interventions 34