AUDITOR APPOINTMENTS

Question

I am dealing with the relevant Government Dept about various PC related issues and they are generally unhelpful.  They usually come back with a " we don't comment on policy, that's for the courts" and usually add " you can of course write to the auditors".  Now recently I have responded with a quote I have seen  on here and I want to check that out . Somebody said the audit process was a farce in that PCs could choose from a list of auditors and if the didnt like what they were saying they could change to another one. "No they cant" said my contact and sent me the following link  http://www.localaudits.co.uk/appts.html.  That link does of course refer to just smaller authorities (below £25K ? ).   Could anyone point me to "chapter and verse" on the selection process for medium sized and larger Councils and whether  my quote is correct or not . It would be useful if anyone could weight the numbers of  PCs in each category

Answer 1

The external auditor is chosen by the Government. The internal auditor is chosen by the Council.  The internal auditor goes through all of the records and checks not just the figures, but policies and procedures.  The external auditor sees a few numbers on the AGAR, the Council's self-certification that it hasn't broken any rules, and the internal auditor's certificate (which is different from the audit report.)

There are no minimum qualifications for internal auditors and too many Councils choose their best friends.

Comments

When I complained to the Internal Auditor he didn't want to know  and replied  "Our work is much more geared to financial matters, accounts and the risks revolving around finance rather than governance". Haven't tried the external auditor yet  but as you say it seems to be moreso around a procedural tick list. Very frustrating

---

Agreed. We use the Local Association of Councils auditor list ( for me EALC derived from NALC). Internal Auditor can be anyone . Some auditors go through everything and others just do the numbers. Check the annual audit documentation.  Best of luck.