This year’s ICAEW Achievement Award winner, Edward ‘Eddie’ Ouko, faced huge resistance in his role as Auditor-General of Kenya. Despite the threats, he stood his ground.

The former PwC partner and now Jersey’s Comptroller and Auditor General on why tackling the local audit crisis hinges on audit firm leaders valuing the public sector audit discipline better.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) held their first meeting of the year in New York with a number of interesting projects to report back on, including sustainability reporting and presentation of financial statements.

The first face-to-face meeting of the Strategic Finance Network Group tackled the fascinating subject of ‘Influencing Upwards’ at an event hosted by ICAEW at Chartered Accountants Hall.

Proposed backstop date of 30 September 2024 would force auditors to qualify or disclaim local authority financial statements if councils cannot resolve accounting issues in time.

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has delivered a landmark report that will transform local authority financial statements, says ICAEW’s Alison Ring.

A Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee report urges the government to fix the crisis in local audit.

Alison Ring, ICAEW Director Public Sector and Taxation, says we must take a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix long-standing underlying problems with the way local government financial statements are used.

ICAEW sets out its vision for local audit, making the case for better financial reporting, high quality and more timely audits, stronger financial management and governance, and a thriving profession that is highly valued.

ICAEW is responsible for the licensing, registering and monitoring of auditors who wish to carry out audits of local public bodies. This page explains what accountancy firms and individuals need to do to become a registered local auditor under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

Public sector bodies may produce financial statements under the same accounting standards as their private sector counterparts, but there are some key differences. In addition, each of the UK's four nations has its own approach to audit. This hub highlights the important variations all auditors need to be aware of.

Unacceptable delays in the local audit system must be addressed if local authorities want to ensure accountability to the local electorate, says Rob Whiteman.

ICAEW engages with the Fabian Society and their pamphlet ‘Prizing the Public Pound’ on local audit and spending effectiveness in central government, in which they call for a future Labour government to reorganise, revitalise and expand public audit in England.

This special report has been written to support local public bodies when they are in the process of tendering for external audit services under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

Trust and confidence in public spending can only be enhanced by building a framework of accountability, transparency, governance and ethics. This publication explores the issues that local public bodies in England are facing in the current economic climate.

Restoring trust in public finances - the value of audit insight (joint ICAEW-PwC series on sustainable public finances - EU perspectives).