A new company has been launched tasked with taking over key responsibilities from the Audit Commission after the public spending watchdog’s closure next year.
Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) will appoint auditors to local government and the NHS until at least 2017.
Set up by the Local Government Association, PSAA is a subsidiary of the Improvement and Development Agency and will be chaired by Steve Freer, former chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
‘The LGA is keen to maintain high quality independent audit arrangements for local public services,’ said Cllr Peter Fleming, Chair of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board.
‘We are confident that PSAA will ensure that local public bodies continue to be subject to robust audits and that audit work will continue to be carried out in a cost-effective way.’
Steve Freer said: ‘Sound audit arrangements are a pre-requisite for effective public accountability. I look forward to the challenge of helping to maintain a rigorous audit regime during a period of continuing austerity and significant change for local services.’
The Government has previously said the closure of the Audit Commission will save the taxpayer over £1bn.
