A quick guide to the Auditor General, Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland

Description

A Quick Guideto the Auditor General, Accounts Commissionand Audit Scotland2Around 200 public bodies in Scotland spend more than Audit Scotland We help the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission check that £36 billion of public money each year. These include organisations spending public money use it properly, efficiently and effectively. Scottish Government, local councils and NHS bodies.We do this by carrying out performance studies and producing annual audit reports on public bodies. We cover over 200 organisations including:• 73 central government bodies (Scottish Government, non-departmental public The duty of the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission is to help bodies and others)make sure that public money is spent properly, efficiently and effectively. • 23 NHS bodies• 32 councils Our role in Audit Scotland is to provide the Auditor General and the • 45 joint boards and committees (including police and fire and rescue services)• 37 further education colleges Accounts Commission with the services they need to carry out their duties.• Scottish Water. Audit Scotland staff and firms of auditors appointed by us carry out the audits. They check whether the organisations:Scottish Scottish ministers Parliament • manage their finances to the highest standards • achieve the best possible value for public money. Three principles guide our workAudit Scotland arranges the auditAccounts Auditor • Auditors are independent of the organisations ...

Informations

• Publié par: Inse
• Nombre de lectures: 24
• Langue: English

Extrait

A Quick Guide to the Auditor General, Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland

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Around 200 public bodies in Scotland spend more than £36 billion of public money each year. These include Scottish Government, local councils and S bodies.

The duty of theAuditor Generaland theAccounts Commissionis to help mae sure that public money is spent properly, efficiently and effectively.

ur role inAudit Scotlandis to provide the Auditor General and the Accounts ommission ith the services they need to carry out their duties.

Accounts Commission

Scottish ministers

Scottish Parliament

Audit Scotland arranges the audit of about 200 public organisations.

Audit Scotland

Auditor General

The Auditor General is independent, reports to the Scottish arliament, and is held accountable for Audit Scotland’s or. The Accounts ommission is independent of local councils and of overnment, and mae reports and recommendations to Scottish ministers.

Audit Scotland  e help the Auditor General and the Accounts ommission chec that oranisations spendin public money use it properly, efficiently and effectively. e do this by carryin out performance studies and producin annual audit reports on public bodies. e cover over 200 oranisations includin

•overnment bodies Scottish Government, nondepartmental public3 central bodies and others  23 S bodies • •32 councils • oint boards and committees includin police and fire and rescue services •3 further education collees •Scottish ater.   Audit Scotland staff and firms of auditors appointed by us carry out the audits. They chec hether the oranisations •manae their finances to the hihest standards •achieve the best possible value for public money.

Three principles guide our work

•Auditors are independent of the oranisations they audit. •e report in public.   •e loo at more than financial statements – e chec hether oranisations deliver value for money and e eamine ider uestions about the public sector’s performance.

Above all, e support public scrutiny that is fair, eual and open, and that leads to more effective financial manaement and value for money.

Audit Scotland’s or is overseen by its board, made up of the Auditor General, the chair of the Accounts ommission and three other independent non eecutive members appointed by the Scottish ommission for ublic Audit SA, a parliamentary body that eamines Audit Scotland’s annual budet proposals. The board has audit and remuneration committees reportin to it.

The Auditor General The Auditor General oersees the audits of most public bodies in Scotland ecept local authorities. e can also decide to carry out performance studies of particular oranisations, sectors or issues.

Robert Black Auditor General for Scotland

The Auditor General:  •is appointed by the Cron   •is independent    •reports to the Scottish arliament •is held accountable for Audit Scotland’s or.

The Auditor General’s role is to: •appoint auditors to Scotland’s central oernment and S bodies •eamine ho public bodies spend public money •mae sure they manae their finances to the hihest standards •mae sure they achiee alue for money.

Public bodies that the Auditor General scrutinises include:  •directorates of the Scottish Goernment •S bodies •further education collees •Scottish ater •oernment aencies and nondepartmental public bodies s such as Scottish nterprise, the Scottish rison Serice and istoric Scotland.

A uic uide to the Auditor General, Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland 3

The Accounts Commission The Accounts Commission arranes the audits of councils and police and fire and rescue boards. t is responsible for the est alue audit of local authorities and also carries out performance studies.

ohn Baillie Chair of the Accounts Commission

The Accounts Commission: •as set up in  •is independent of local councils and of oernment •can mae reports and recommendations to Scottish ministers.

The Accounts Commission’s role is to:  •appoint auditors to Scotland’s 32 councils and  oint boards and committees •help these bodies manae their resources efficiently and effectiely •promote est alue •publish information eery year about ho councils perform.

The Accounts Commission has powers to: •report and mae recommendations to the oranisations it scrutinises •hold hearins

•report and mae recommendations to Scottish ministers.

The Commission can also tae action aainst councillors and council officials if their nelience or misconduct

•leads to money bein lost or •breas the la.

Accounts Commission members  There are beteen si and 2 members appointed by Scottish ministers.

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The Audit Scotland team

ussell Frith

Diane McGiffen

ynn Bradley

We have around 300 staff, working from offices in Aberdeen, East Kilbride, Edinburgh and Inverness, and audit locations across the country

hey are led by a management team, with each member taking resonsibility for a secific area of our work As an indeendent watchdog for cotland, we can make a real difference to the way ublic sector organisations oerate ur reorts comment on how effectively and efficiently ublic bodies are run, and if they offer value for money

Caroline Gardner  Deputy Auditor General (currently on secondment) aroline not ictured has taken u a month secondment ost as hief inancial fficer in the urks and aicos Islands

Russell Frith  Assistant Auditor General (Financial Audit) ussell is resonsible for rocurement and resources, auditing and accounting standards, technical suort and uality assurance

Diane McGiffen Chief peratin fficer iane is resonsible for the internal oerations and business erformance of Audit cotland and chairs the anagement eam

Fiona Kordiak

Barbara Hurst

Lynn Bradley  Director of Corporate rorammes ynn is resonsible for key areas of develoment including cororate knowledge and information management and cororate erformance reorting

Fiona Kordiak Director of Audit erices iona is resonsible for the inhouse audit services we rovide to the health, central and local government sectors, including the audit of financial statements, governance and erformance management   Barbara urst Director of erformance Audit arbara leads a team which conducts erformance audits across central government, health and local government  

Fraser McKinlay

Fraser McKinlay  Director of Best alue and crutiny mproement and Controller of Audit raser manages a team which is resonsible for carrying out est alue audits and develoing scrutiny coordination It also roduces overview reorts, statutory reorts and handles corresondence to Audit cotland e is also ontroller of Audit

ow we report on what we ind e produce a ide rane of local and national reports about the performance and financial manaement of Scotland’s public bodies.

Annual audits e publish annual audit reports for all the public bodies e are responsible for auditin. Auditors ie detailed reports directly to the oranisations they audit, as ell as many other pieces of or durin the financial year. They also report to either the Auditor General or the Accounts Commission.

Public reports e publish a ide rane of reports on matters of public interest. These include oerie reports on ho different sectors perform durin each financial year. ther reports focus on particular issues, either in an indiidual oranisation or across a sector. These reports are considered by the Scottish arliament andor the Accounts Commission.

e also assess councils’ and police authorities’ proress in meetin their est alue and Community lannin duties, and publish reports about this.

A uic uide to the Auditor General, Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland 

ur impact e proide assurance that public money is spent properly and help public bodies follo and deelop ood practice and improe public serices.

ur or helps the oranisations and serices e audit to continuously improe, particularly in the folloin cateories shon belo ith eamples from past reports. e also publish impact reports for each of our maor studies. These are aailable on our ebsite.

conom and eicienc ectieness and ualit •Improving public sector efficiency•The role of boards •Scotland’s public finances•Protecting and improving Scotland’s     environmentReview of orthopaedic services • •National concessionary travel•ow councils wor an improvement series for councillors and officers Planning and management •mergency departments •Physical recreation services in local governmentAccountabilit •The Gathering•Annual reports on accounts •anaging NS waiting lists•Goernance reies and reports •Getting it right for children in•is assessments residential care•est alue audits of councils •erie reports on local oernment and the S

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ur ision e proide assurance to the people of Scotland that their money is spent appropriately and e help public sector oranisations in Scotland to improe and perform better.

As a result of the chanin enironment, the ey issues facin our staeholders and public bodies, and the feedbac from our staeholder consultation, e hae set the folloin priorities for the net to years

• elier more streamlined audit in partnership ith other scrutiny bodies.

• aimise our contribution to the improement of public serices.

• ncrease the impact of our or.

  ecome a centre of ecellence for public audit. •

• mproe the transparency of our costs and oernance arranements.

The diaram opposite represents our ision, obecties and the supportin actiities e ill carry out oer the period of the corporate plan. The plan is structured to reflect these three leels and is supported by detailed plans for each sector – central oernment, local oernment and health. These are published on our ebsite at.nd.uocstalto.idua

ur ision

n behal o the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission we will proide assurance to the people o Scotland that their mone is spent appropriatel and we will help public sector organisations in Scotland to improe and perorm better

ur obecties

olding to account and helping to improe e will conduct ecellent riskbased audits o e will sstematicall identi and promote the public sector and report on them in public good practice to help public bodies to improe

Supporting actiities

e will ensure that we are e will closel engage and e will ensure that we recognised and respected communicate with our ke understand the eternal as an independent and stakeholders clients and partners enironment and polic authoritatie bod and other scrutin bodies contet

e will appl independent e will orm robust and challenge and technical support proessional udgements rom to maintain and improe the our eidencebase ualit o our work

e will hae engaged and e will continue to maintain e will gather organise motiated people strong leadership and deelop our proessional and share knowledge and and good internal communication skills and competencies intelligence

e will delier our work and manage our resources eficientl and eectiel and will be clear where we need to improe e will hae ecellent goernance procedures and will monitor and report on the impact o our work

Contact us

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