Audit Scotland warns improvements needed as half of audits miss deadline

Audit Scotland has said that it is yet to return to its pre-pandemic timelines for delivering audits, warning that Scotland’s public services “cannot continue in their current form” as half of audits were delivered late.

In its latest annual report, the body said that in 2022/23, only 51% of audits were delivered on schedule, compared to 75% in 2021/2022 and 82% in 2020/2021. 

In total, Audit Scotland audited 224 sets of accounts this year, and the group said it was making progress in returning to the “timeliness” of its financial audit to pre-pandemic timescales but warned there is “more work to do”.

It said: “While all but one of the audits have been delivered, we are yet to return to pre-pandemic delivery timelines. This remains a challenge, both at Audit Scotland and in the capacity at audited bodies, and we intend to make progress towards pre-pandemic performance against deadlines over the coming year.”

The group also warned that “fundamental change” is needed to the way public services are delivered and funded, with its chair warning that current models and approaches are “not fit for the future”.

Stephen Boyle, auditor general for Scotland and Accountable officer, said: “Over the past year our audit work has told us that Scotland’s public services cannot continue in their current form if they are to meet the rising demands from inequalities, demographic change and economic pressures. 

“While the questions about the sustainability of key services are not new, they are now urgent as Scotland strives to recover from the pandemic and cope with new and existing stresses. Central to achieving and protecting sustainable public services will be the major changes needed in how they are shaped and delivered.”

He added: “This includes better sharing of data and joint resources, as well as different delivery models and innovative thinking, among other things. And it requires a clear commitment to involving the public – the people who use and pay for services – in the conversation about how to change.

“Aligned with this is the need for more transparency in spending and in financial reporting. Public spending in Scotland has risen significantly and quickly in the past two years. Information on how that money is spent and its impacts must be clearer and more accessible. Audit Scotland has a part to play too: our audit work must be reliable, relevant and understandable. We have continued to focus on our quality, with improvements over recent years.”

According to Boyle, these improvements include increasing its emphasis on innovation and development, including the creation of a new Innovation and Quality business group to lead this agenda, strengthening its quality arrangements and “ensuring public audit is fit for the future”. 

Boyle concluded: “As with other public bodies, we are also still managing the impacts of the pandemic on our work. While the work is being delivered, there is more to do for our audit programmes to return to pre-pandemic timelines.”