Recommendation 31

PSAA noted that the audit firms carried out extensive training programmes for their staff, but that it was important to ensure these programmes covered training on the specific aspects for audits of local authorities.88 Grant Thornton informed us that it was the largest trainer of students through CIPFA, but that it took a long time to train people from joining the firm to becoming public sector specialists. EY added that the ICAEW was looking urgently at the requirement for people to have at least three years’ experience of oversight of delivering audits of local bodies before they could gain accreditation as key audit partners.89 The declining commercial attractiveness of auditing local authorities