This consultation closed on 30 September 2022.
Summary
This consultation invited audited bodies and stakeholders to submit views on PSAA’s proposals for setting the fee scale for the audit of opted-in bodies’ 2022/23 financial statements and value for money arrangements. Audit work under this fee scale will largely be undertaken from autumn 2023 onwards.
Consultees will be aware that auditors and auditing have been subject to very high levels of scrutiny in recent times following a number of widely reported financial failures in the private sector. These events led the government to commission a series of reviews focusing on audit regulation, the audit market, audit quality and effectiveness, and more specifically the framework for local audit and financial reporting.
The consultation was carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Appointing Person Regulations, which include the requirement to consult on and set the audit fee scale before 1 December of the relevant financial year.
The consultation explained how PSAA proposed to calculate the audit fees which will make up the 2022/23 fee scale. The proposal involved managing the impact of three key elements:
- fee variations approved in relation to 2019/20 and 2020/21 audit work which relate to recurrent audit work in subsequent audit years;
- changes in local audit requirements; and
- the impact of changes in inflation.
The 2022/23 audit year is the last in the current five-year appointing period, which covers the audits of the accounts of relevant authorities for 2018/19 to 2022/23.
New audit contracts will apply for the five audit years from 2023/24, following a PSAA audit procurement exercise during 2022. Any fee implications arising from the results of the procurement will be considered in our consultation on the 2023/24 fee scale in twelve months’ time.