Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 41
41
Acknowledged
Insufficient finance team experience for complex accounts necessitated recruitment of hundreds of staff.
Conclusion
The second key reason the Department gave for the delay in the completion of its 2023–24 accounts was that the finance team who were tasked with producing the accounts previously worked in DIT and had to understand the complex balances which the Department inherited from BEIS.67 DIT had total operating expenditure in 2022–23 of £588 million across its departmental group.68 This represents a fraction of the £3,951 million in the Department’s group operating expenditure when restated for the equivalent period which includes the relevant portion of BEIS expenditure.69 The finance team’s experience from producing the DIT accounts was therefore insufficient to provide the capability to prepare the Department’s accounts. The Department considers the complexity of its balance sheet is “different by orders of magnitude” compared to DIT70 and that the 2023–24 accounts production process was a steep learning curve.71 The Department said it had needed to recruit “literally a couple of hundred” finance staff to provide sufficient capability within its finance function.72
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's conclusion regarding delays in its 2023-24 accounts due to finance team capability and complexity. It reports that Annual Report and Accounts production is progressing well and is on target for a September publication.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2025 5.2 The department will inform the Committee should it become likely that the September deadline will be missed. The Annual Report and Accounts production and audit are currently progressing well and are on target for a September publication.