Do Councils have to publish details of the Auditors employed by the Council?

Question

Does the Council have to publish the contact details for its auditors either via its website or via a Freedom of Information request?  I note the potential conflict with GDPR legislation and wonder which takes precedence in this case.

Answer 1

I am not sure why it could be a GDPR conflict, the auditor is not an employee, someone with whom they have a contract (and in most cases Parishes share the same national audit firm).

The auditor must be approved in the minutes and their audit report available for public inspection, I can't see a reason why it would not be public information.

The only exception I could see was whether having on a website ), under a 'contact us' section would lead to residents to contact them to complain to about the Parish in the first place instead of to the council.

Comments

A previous auditor was self-employed.  I wasn't sure if publishing his contact details would be a conflict with GDPR.

Answer 2

My guess is that the name and position and organisation  of the auditor needs to be published.  e.g . B. Smith  Town Clerk, Acacia Parish Council  or   D. Bloggs.  Chief  Audit Officer, ACME Audits ltd.  This makes hem identifiable without providing their home address or  phone numbers etc.

If the auditor is a one man show, then they should sign a privacy notice as a condition of doing the audit.to acknowledge that some of their personal data will be accessible in the public domain.