At the last Southwark Council Audit & Governance Committee the Audit Commission presented its charges. They’ve increased their charges by 4.3% since last year. Couched in terms intended to make us feel lucky it wasn’t even more.
The Audit Commission decides who we’re allowed to have externally audit Southwark Council. They unilaterally decide the charges we pay and have decided they will be our auditors. The ultimate in monopoly.
This has to be a regulation that needs to be zapped. Councils should have an obligation to have their acounts externally audited. Massive private companies, factors larger than us have this, but we should be able choose the best value auditors.
The current system has no competition – its expensive in price, disruption to councils and represents appalling value for money for tax payers.
Kent Governance and Audit Committee last week refused to agree the Audit Commission fee, and asked them to reassess and come back again.
In particular, there is an element of the fee which was effectively for the Comprehensive Area Assessment – which the Government has now killed. So they were asking for money to do work auditing an area of work which will not exist (and in which any successor has not been defined) – that portion was ruled out until we know what they might actually have to audit! The remainder was then questioned on best value: how, when the Council have to deliver efficiencies every year, does the Audit Commission themselves not have to?
All in all, our Auditor left with some work to do for the next meeting 🙂
Tim