Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 8
8
The deadline for local authorities to publish their accounts has changed over time, being 30...
Conclusion
The deadline for local authorities to publish their accounts has changed over time, being 30 September up to 2017; 31 July for 2018 and 2019; and for 2020 the original 31 July deadline was extended to 30 November.16 Grant Thornton felt that the deadline of 31 July each year was no longer sustainable due to the complexity of local authority financial statements and the amount and nature of work that auditors were required to do. Grant Thornton considered that the earliest date each year to which auditors could complete audits of local authorities, to the right quality standards, was 30 September.17 The London Borough of Hackney also told us that earlier audit deadlines were not achievable, particularly for larger, complex, authorities.18
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
1.3 As part of the government’s response to the Redmond Review, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (the department or MHCLG) has taken action to help improve the timeliness of auditor reporting, extending the publication deadline for audited local authority accounts to 30 September for two years, provided an additional £15 million to local bodies to help with the costs of audit and new burdens from the review, and committed to amend regulations to provide the appointing person (Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd or PSAA) with greater flexibility to agree additional costs. 1.4 The department also welcome the work undertaken by the National Audit Office (NAO) and Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to update Auditor Guidance Notes 03 and 07, and guidance on going concern, to assist delivery of 2020-21 audits, and are working with stakeholders to consider whether there are other steps that could assist timely delivery. 1.5 However, it will take time to get things back on track. The department is currently consulting on broader proposals to strengthen the wider system, including to increase auditor capacity and capability. The department will write to the Committee in September 2021 with an update on plans and timetable for getting timeliness back on track, and then provide a further update on its work to address timeliness issues, as well as the other recommendations from the Committee, as part of the department’s response to that consultation, later in 2021. The department has also committed to work with stakeholders and review the audit deadline following the completion of 2021-22 audits.