The government is now assessing feedback from a consultation on proposals to clear the backlog of local audits in England. Here, Stephen Sheen looks at some of the difficulties arising from the proposals and outlines priorities for the months ahead.
When I suggested in an article written as the local audit crisis started to unfold that a solution might be to skip a year and see if anyone noticed, the idea was intended to be light-hearted. But with the various proposals now before us, here we are.
A series of backstop dates will be established, by which authorities must publish a final version of the statement of accounts, with any audit opinion that the auditors are in a position to give based on the work performed (if any)