Prepare for audit function to be outsourced from 2012, councils told

Councils should prepare for the outsourcing of audit from the 2012/13 financial year as the government speeds up plans to close the Audit Commission the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has said.

In a letter to chief executives this week the government said that, while no final decision been made, the government had asked the Audit Commission to prepare to outsource its audit work to the private sector from 2012/13.

The letter also said that it did not expect any outsourcing of the Audit Commission's audit work to delay the date from which local authorities could begin to appoint their own auditors.

“We need to ensure that the public purse is protected and and that you get high quality and value for money audit services until you can start appointing your own auditors,” the letter said. It promised that that local government would be “fully engaged” in the appointment of auditors and that it would share any savings realised with local authorities.

When it announced its plans to disband the Audit Commission last year, the government said that it would either outsource all public sector audit work to the private sector or re-constitute the Audit Commission into a private company which could be sold.

In this week's letter, the government said that its “initial” view was that outsourcing its work would potentially be “quicker, more straightforward and better value for money”and that it had asked the Audit Commission to prepare for the outsourcing of all audit work with effect from the 2012/13 financial year.

The decision to close the Audit Commission is still subject to a consultation process which closes on 30 June.

A copy of the letter can be accessed via the following link: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1914406.pdf