About PSAA
Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited (PSAA) is a company limited by guarantee without share capital. The company is wholly owned by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), itself wholly owned by the Local Government Association (LGA). The LGA is a national membership body for local authorities which works on behalf of members to support, promote and improve local government.
PSAA began operations on 1 April 2015 when the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government delegated to PSAA on a transitional basis a number of statutory functions following the closure of the Audit Commission. These responsibilities included appointing auditors and setting audit fees for bodies subject to audit under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (LAAA2014). Whilst most of these transitional responsibilities have come to an end, PSAA is still responsible for a small residual number of audits under these arrangements.
During 2016 PSAA was specified by the Secretary of State as an appointing person under the provisions of the LAAA2014. This means that for audits of accounts from 2018/19 PSAA appoints an auditor to eligible principal authorities (councils, local police bodies, fire authorities and other local government bodies) that have chosen to opt into the national auditor appointment scheme developed by the company. The scheme formally commenced in April 2018. The duration of the first appointing period was set at five years and therefore runs until 31 March 2023, covering audits of the accounts for the financial years 2018/19 to 2022/23.
At 1 April 2021, 467 of the 476 eligible bodies (98%) had opted into PSAA’s national auditor appointment arrangements including all principal authorities created since 1 April 2018. Bodies remain in the scheme for the specified appointing period.
In May 2021 the Government confirmed that PSAA would continue as the appointing person for local government, fire and police audits, with responsibility for procurement and contract management. This means PSAA will continue to appoint auditors and set audit fees for those eligible bodies who choose to opt in to the national arrangements, rather than appointing their own auditors. The second appointing period will commence on 1 April 2023.
The project to prepare for the second appointing period is a significant undertaking for the company spanning a two-year period. The timeline below shows the indicative timetable. PSAA hopes to develop arrangements which will secure positive outcomes including progress towards a more resilient, sustainable local audit system.
PSAA has made significant progress during 2021/22 in developing the appointing person arrangements including:
- consulting on and publishing a new prospectus for the appointing person scheme;
- setting out a procurement strategy and initiating a major procurement exercise to award new audit contracts, and to establish a DPS;
- determining the detail of our approach to ensure that all aspects of our methodology support the aim and objectives of our strategy, placing particular emphasis upon meeting the needs of the sector and making the procurements attractive to both new and existing suppliers; and
- increasing our communications and engagement activity over a nine-month period for the different stakeholder groups, during the period of the opt-in invitation:
- consultation, webinars and e-bulletins for eligible bodies
- market engagement with current and potential suppliers of audit services
- members of the Local Audit Liaison Committee
- regular engagement with DLUHC
Eligible bodies had until 11 March 2022 to notify us whether they wished to join the national scheme for the second appointing period. We engaged widely with eligible bodies, the market and key stakeholders to inform both the development of our offer for the national scheme and our procurement strategy.
In the event, 470 bodies (99% of eligible bodies) chose to join the national scheme for the appointment of their external auditor for the audit of accounts from 2023/24 to 2027/28.
This project will complete during 2022/23, when, subject to a successful procurement outcome, PSAA will consult on and confirm auditor appointments to all opted-in bodies.
PSAA’s changing responsibilities over time
Second Appointing Period: detailed timeline
