The Government’s financial accounts have failed to be signed off for the first time because of what national auditors describe as the ‘severe backlogs’ in English local authority audits.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a ‘disclaimed' audit opinion on the 2022-23 whole of government accounts (WGA) after only 10% (43) of England's 426 councils submitted reliable data.
Head of the NAO, Gareth Davies, said he had been ‘unable to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence upon which to form an opinion’.
The Government is taking steps to address the backlog in audited accounts for English local authorities, including the use of fixed dates by which each year’s audits must be completed.
However, the NAO warned that while this offered a medium-term solution to the problem, it is unlikely to allow the disclaimer on WGA to be removed for 2023-24.
Davies commented: ‘It is clearly not acceptable that delays in audited accounts for English local authorities have made it impossible for me to provide assurance on the whole of government accounts for 2022-23.
‘It is essential that the steps being taken by Government to restore timely and robust local authority audited accounts are effective.’
