• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Conference
  • Events Calendar
  • Webcast151
  • MOTB
  • Log In
  • Register

Room 151

  • Treasury
  • Technical
  • Funding
  • Resources
  • LGPS
  • Development
  • 151 News
  • Blogs
    • David Green
    • Agent 151
    • Dan Bates
    • Richard Harbord
    • Stephen Sheen
    • James Bevan
    • Steve Bishop
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • David Crum
    • Graham Liddell
    • Ian O’Donnell
    • Jackie Shute
  • Interviews

LGA says audit delays prove it was right over 2014 accounts deadline warning

0
  • by Colin Marrs
  • in 151 News · Technical · Treasury
  • — 30 Jul, 2019

Delays to the publication of 16 councils’ accounts due to auditor staff shortages has borne out warnings the Local Government Association (LGA) made to the government in 2014 about curtailing the timetable, it says.

Before his departure in last week’s cabinet reshuffle, the LGA wrote to local government minister Rishi Sunak asking him to restore the deadline of 30 September.

The letter was prompted after a group of 16 councils in the East of England and East Midlands, plus two police and crime commissioners and a combined fire authority, were informed that auditor EY was unable to do the work necessary for them to meet the publication deadline of 31 July.

In the letter, Richard Watts, chair of the LGA resources board, said: “In 2014 in our response to the consultation on the local audit regulations, which included the new tighter timetable for the publication of annual accounts, we raised concerns that the limited supply of auditors and overlap with other bodies’ timetables…could result in the systems being vulnerable to problems like those now occurring.

“While councils have shown that they are capable of meeting the earlier July deadline, clearly this is not the case for the system as a whole and we would therefore ask that the deadline is reviewed and pushed back to 30 September for future years.”

Watts called on Sunak to move the deadline back to September for future years.

In 2014, the government shortened the publication of the timetable for publishing the accounts from September to 31 July, despite warnings from the LGA.

In its response to the preceding consultation on the local audit regulations, it said: “What is being asked is for authorities to do in two months what was previously done in three.

“This is in the context of reducing funding and enormous pressures on front-line services.

“Most authorities’ back-office functions, including finance, have already achieved significant reductions in back office staff in order to preserve front-line service delivery, making the scope to speed up the process of closing the accounts limited.”

The councils affected by the delay to the sign-off of their 2018/19 accounts include six in Cambridgeshire, including the county, along with six in Northamptonshire.

In April, Neil Harris, associate partner at EY, wrote to the Northamptonshire councils explaining that challenges in replacing departing staff would affect the audit timetable.

He said: “I apologise for the inconvenience that the rescheduling of your audit may cause. We will work with you to ensure that any disruption is minimised.”

Watts also asked Sunak to ensure that the affected local authorities are excluded from any reporting of performance metrics “where the failure of their accounts being audited would show them in a bad light, for example reporting of councils that have / have not published their accounts on time.”

He said: “Councils should not be criticised for failing meeting a deadline through no fault of their own.”

In a separate letter to Tony Crawley, chief executive of Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA), the body responsible for appointing councils’ auditors, Watts said it would be unfair if the delay led to councils incurring greater costs.

He said: “Reporting timetables will have to be changed, meaning staff would be taken away from planning next year’s budgets, while finance officers have booked leave over the summer.

“This may mean key staff won’t be available at crucial times for the audit, or for additional staff resources needing to be employed; they may also have to spend longer on working on the accounts and providing the auditors with support and information.”

Chris Boden, leader of and portfolio holder for finance at Fenland District Council, one of the affected councils, said: “Non-publication of our accounts is by no way a reflection of the council’s financial standing or governance arrangements – both of which remain strong and robust.

“The council closed its accounts in line with the statutory deadline of 31 May and was ready for the audit to commence in July 2019.”

Get the Room 151 Newsletter

Room151 Conferences & Events

Share

You may also like...

  • Report calls for bolstered s151 role for LEPs Report calls for bolstered s151 role for LEPs 26 Oct, 2017
  • Editor’s Blog: Commercial property investment now a bad publicity risk Editor’s Blog: Commercial property investment now a bad publicity risk 4 May, 2017
  • Council income, devolution complications, Manchester advice contract, joint services for London councils Council income, devolution complications, Manchester advice contract, joint services for London councils 16 Jul, 2015
  • Javid brings forward Spending Review Javid brings forward Spending Review 28 Aug, 2019

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Register to become a Room151 user

  • Latest tweets

    Room151 11 hours ago

    What role will climate change have on the pricing of government bonds?: Sponsored article: Kerry Duffain finds that “vulnerability and resilience to climate change” have a significant impact on the cost of government borrowing. Ardea Investment… dlvr.it/RtNKv7 pic.twitter.com/wDjT31x4Yt

    Room151 1 day ago

    ESGenius: Slashing emissions will fuel green growth for decades: Sponsored article: Velislava Dimitrova argues that a big enough investment could mean transition to a low, or no, carbon economy can become a reality. The world needs to slash carbon[...] dlvr.it/RtKZJp pic.twitter.com/cd8S3ijERl

    Room151 1 day ago

    Prudential code: “Not perfect, but its heart is in the right place”: The new Prudential Code offers revised rules for borrowing. Nikki Bishop is sceptical it will work while Gary Fielding offers his support. Nikki Bishop I have been asked to give[...] dlvr.it/RtKZFh pic.twitter.com/OriN28lXcb

    Room151 2 days ago

    Tremendous report from @MarkSandford3 citing @room_151 no fewer than six times (despite what the @lgcplus fact checking/counting dept might tell you) #localgov commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-brief… 1/5

    Room151 1 week ago

    Dan Bates: Capitalisation directions are not the only tool for rebuilding finances: Dan Bates argues deep seated problems are contributing to a rush for capitalisation directions. For some time now we have been reading that a number of councils are in… dlvr.it/RspKff pic.twitter.com/xRRsgVim9u

    Room151 2 weeks ago

    Is local government funding “broken”?: Andrew Hardingham looks at the underlying issues that caused more than a third of respondents in the Room151/CCLA treasury survey to say that the funding system for local govenrment is[...] dlvr.it/RsYhsg pic.twitter.com/plNp7Ayys6

    Room151 2 weeks ago

    GameStop: A lesson for LGPS in the risks of short selling: Day traders coordinating their efforts through the social media platform Reddit have not only boosted the stock of US GameStop, but also badly hurt hedge funds engaged in huge bets[...] dlvr.it/RsGdVV pic.twitter.com/NTMC3j6J2u

    Room151 2 weeks ago

    Room151 panel backs unitary councils and devolution: Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to local government, according to Sir Bob Kerslake, chair of the Peabody Trust, but “ …we need to move to unitary government and[...] dlvr.it/RsFPNv pic.twitter.com/lT4eCi0TmV

  • Categories

    • 151 News
    • Agent 151
    • Blogs
    • Chris Buss
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • Dan Bates
    • David Crum
    • David Green
    • Development
    • Forum
    • Funding
    • Graham Liddell
    • Ian O'Donnell
    • Interviews
    • Jackie Shute
    • James Bevan
    • Jobs
    • LGPSi
    • Mark Finnegan
    • Recent Posts
    • Resources
    • Richard Harbord
    • Stephen Fitzgerald
    • Stephen Sheen
    • Steve Bishop
    • Technical
    • Treasury
    • Uncategorized
  • Archives

    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
  • Previous story Councils seek assurance from new government on local authority funding
  • Next story PM pledges new local powers and spending for councils

© Copyright 2021 Room 151. Typegrid Theme by WPBandit.