The president of the Society of County Treasurers has described the planned 150% increase in local government audit fees as “eye-watering” and called for evidence to justify the increase.
Chris Tambini, who is also director of corporate resources at Leicestershire County Council, told Room151 that the expected increase announced yesterday (3 October) by Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) for 2023/24 raised questions as to how well the audit market is working.
“I understand the pressure the audit firms are under and the also the real importance of audit, but that increase is eye watering. I hope the audit firms will provide the evidence to support it,” he said.
Tambini added that with the other pressures faced by the sector, many organisations would find it hard to afford such a hike in audit fees.
“Although I hope to be proved wrong, I expect that even with higher fees the firms will still struggle to provide a timely audit service that meets our requirements.”
John Turnbull, strategic director of finance and governance at the London Borough of Waltham Forest and president of the Society of London Treasurers, agreed that audit quality was a particular concern.
“What we would want to see is an improvement in the quantity and quality of audit staff that resolves the problems being experienced in the timeliness of audits being completed.,” he told Room151.
“What will become even more important is the contract management by the PSAA to ensure that we receive the best value for money possible from the contract.”
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