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AuditAberdeen City Council has a patchy record of planning and monitoring its service-boosting income generation proposals – many of which fail to meet their budgeted targets, an internal audit report has found.
The report to members of the council’s audit, risk and scrutiny committee also warned that a focus on bottom-line budgets for functions risked “alternative actions” taking place in lieu of originally-agreed measures in a way that “may not be sustainable or achieve the intended outcomes”.
David Hughes, Aberdeen’s chief internal auditor, said the authority had set out “income generation opportunities” of £2.32m in 2017/18, an additional £1.77m the following year and a further £1.64m in 2019/
...An increase in PWLB rates has seen treasury officers deluged with offers of credit from the private sector. David Green writes local authorities should take care with the money they borrow.
The fees council pay for their external audits are set to be frozen for the second year running despite increasing cost pressures on audit firms, according to the body responsible for setting payment levels.
A Northern Ireland council has voted to increase its domestic rate bills by almost 8% after being told by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) that its reserve levels are “dangerously low”.
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