Recommendation 58

The Ministry must act on other recommendations from the predecessor Committee’s report on Financial Reporting and Audit in Local Authorities that have not yet been addressed. Specifically, the Ministry should work with the organisation that prepares the Audit Code (currently the National Audit Office, transferring to the Local Audit Office when it is set up) to ensure that local auditors’ opinions over value for money include an actual assessment of value for money achieved (not merely whether appropriate arrangements exist), to assess the benefits of decoupling value for money work from financial audit work, and to encourage local auditors to make more proactive use of existing powers to raise early warnings. (Recommendation, Paragraph 217) 82