Audit

The audit of Best Value is a continuous process that forms part of the annual audit of every council.  Findings are reported each year through the Annual Audit Report.  Auditors appointed by the Accounts Commission or Auditor General must comply with the Code of Audit Practice and relevant supporting guidance.  A new Code of Audit Practice (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) applies to public sector audits for financial years starting on or after 1 April 2022.  It replaces the Code issued in May 2016 (Opens in a new window or downloads a file).  There are several significant changes introduced by the new Code, including the integration of Best Value work into wider scope audit work.  In addition, the Controller of Audit presents a Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR) to the Accounts Commission at least once during the audit appointment for each council.  The Comhairle’s BVAR was considered by the Accounts Commission at its meeting on 8 September 2022 and was available for public inspection on the Accounts Commission’s web page (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) as a public agenda item for the Commission meeting.  The Comhairle’s BVAR (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) was published on 29 September 2022 in Gaelic  (») (Opens in a new window or downloads a file)and English (») (Opens in a new window or downloads a file).  The report is made by the Controller of Audit under section 102 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.