“We are extremely pleased that the committee has highlighted the critical importance of audited financial statements to the accountability, governance and effective financial management of local authorities in England.
“We agree that urgent government action is needed to tackle the crisis in local authority audit and endorse the committee’s call for greater clarity on the purposes and uses of local authority accounts, as well as making them less ‘impenetrable’.”
“We hope this report will be a watershed moment in turning around local authority financial reporting and audit in England. All of us in the sector must do our part to address the current crisis and seize this opportunity to make future local government financial statements more understandable. This will ensure that officers, councillors and the public can have confidence that public money is being spent effectively and that financial risks are being addressed.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
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