External Audit

The auditor’s responsibility is to complete a limited assurance review as set out by the National Audit Office (NAO).

The Government has determined that a lower level of assurance than that provided by a full statutory audit is appropriate for those local public bodies with the lowest levels of spending of under £6.5 million p.a.

A limited assurance review is not a full statutory audit, it does not constitute an audit carried out in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK & Ireland) and hence it does not provide the same level of assurance that such an audit would.

Under a limited assurance review, the auditor is responsible for reviewing Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return in accordance with NAO Auditor Guidance Note 02 (AGN 02) as issued by the NAO. AGN 02 is available from the NAO website.

All smaller authorities with income or expenditure greater than £200k are automatically subject to an intermediate review, and a 5% sample of smaller authorities with income and expenditure below £200k are also selected to be subject to intermediate review.