Context: changes in the audit market
In 2014 when the Local Audit and Accountability Act received Royal Assent the audit market was relatively stable. In 2017 PSAA benefitted from that continuing stability. Our initial procurement on behalf of more than 480 bodies (98% of those eligible to join the national scheme) was very successful, attracting very competitive bids from firms. As a result, we were able to enter into long term contracts with five experienced and respected firms and to make auditor appointments to all bodies. However, although we did not know it at the time, this was the calm before the storm.
2018 proved to be a very significant turning point for the audit industry. A series of financial crises and failures in the private sector gave rise to questioning about the role of auditors and the focus and value of their work. In rapid succession the Government commissioned four independent reviews, all of which have subsequently reported:
- Sir John Kingman’s review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the audit regulator;
- the Competition and Markets Authority review of the audit market;
- Sir Donald Brydon’s review of the quality and effectiveness of audit; and
- Sir Tony Redmond’s review of local authority financial reporting and external audit.
In total the four reviews set out more than 170 recommendations which are now at various stages of consideration by Government with the clear implication that a series of significant reforms could follow. Indeed, in some cases where new legislation is not required, significant change is already underway. A particular case in point concerns the FRC, where the Kingman Review has inspired an urgent drive to deliver rapid, measurable improvements in audit quality. This has already created a major pressure for firms and an imperative to ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements and expectations in every audit they undertake.
By the time firms were conducting 2018/19 local audits, the measures which they were putting in place were clearly visible in response to a more focused regulator that was determined to achieve change. In order to deliver the necessary improvements in audit quality, firms were requiring their audit teams to undertake additional work to gain higher levels of assurance. However, additional work requires more time, posing a threat to firms’ ability to complete all of their audits by the target date for publication of audited accounts (then 31 July) – a threat accentuated by growing recruitment and retention challenges, the complexity of local government financial statements, and increasing levels of technical challenges as bodies explored innovative ways of developing new or enhanced income streams to help fund services for local people.
This risk to the delivery of timely audit opinions first emerged in April 2019 when one of PSAA’s contracted firms flagged the possible delayed completion of approximately 20 audits. Less than four months later, all firms were reporting similar difficulties, resulting in more than 200 delayed audit opinions.
2019/20 audits have presented even greater challenges. With Covid-19 in the mix both finance and audit teams have found themselves in uncharted waters. Even with the benefit of an extended timetable targeting publication of audited accounts by 30 November, more than 260 opinions remained outstanding. The timeliness problem is extremely troubling. It creates disruption and reputational damage for affected parties. There are no easy solutions, and so it is vital that co-ordinated action is taken across the system by all involved in the accounts and audit process to address the current position and achieve sustainable improvement without compromising audit quality. PSAA is fully committed to do all it can to contribute to achieving that goal.
Delayed opinions are not the only consequence of the regulatory drive to improve audit quality. Additional audit work must also be paid for. As a result, many more fee variation claims have been received than in prior years and audit costs have increased.
None of these problems are unique to local government audit. Similar challenges have played out throughout other sectors where, for example, increased fees and disappointing responses to tender invitations have been experienced during the past two years.
All of this paints a picture of an audit industry under enormous pressure, and of a local audit system which is experiencing its share of the strain and instability as impacts cascade down to the frontline of individual audits. We highlight some of the initiatives which we have taken to try to manage through this troubled post-2018 audit era in this prospectus.
We look forward to the challenge of getting beyond managing serial problems within a fragile system and working with other local audit stakeholders to help design and implement a system which is more stable, more resilient, and more sustainable.