audit commission

In local government I found some of the work of the audit commission irritating. Like a number of things however I suspect we will miss it once it is gone. I used to find as a Parish Clerk the power of its reach kept me financially on my toes. This article tells us:

Abolition of the audit commission will make it harder to detect fraud because contractors may feel “compromised”, an anti-corruption group representative warned.

Elizabeth David-Barrett, representing Transparency International, said that the new audit regime means independent auditors could potentially be compromised by the fact that they are “concerned with winning the next contract from the local authority.”

“With local authorities appointing their own external auditors those auditors may not challenge local authorities for fear of not getting their contract renewed or winning other contracts for providing services,” David-Barrett said.

She added that, “Many audit companies not only provide audit services but also other back office functions. There is a risk that they do not challenge something for fear losing another business. There needs to be clear separation.”