Issue - meetings

Councillors noted that the current arrangements regarding the appointment of the Council’s external auditors would end on 31 March 2023.  The Council considered a report on proposals for appointing the external auditor for the five year period from 2023-24. 

The Council was informed that Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) was now undertaking a procurement for the next appointing period, covering audits for 2023-24 to 2027-28. During Autumn 2021 all local government bodies would need to make decisions about their external audit arrangements from 2023-24. The options available were to arrange their own procurement and make the appointment themselves or in conjunction with other bodies, or they could join and take advantage of the national collective scheme administered by PSAA.

Officers considered that the sector-wide procurement conducted by PSAA would produce better outcomes and would be less burdensome for the Council than a procurement undertaken locally because:

• collective procurement reduced costs for the sector and for individual authorities compared to a multiplicity of smaller local procurements;
• if the national appointment arrangements were not used, the Council would need to establish its own auditor panel with an independent chair and independent members to oversee a local auditor procurement and ongoing management of an audit contract;
• it was the best opportunity to secure the appointment of a qualified, registered auditor; and
• supporting the sector-led body offered the best way of ensuring there was a continuing and sustainable public audit market into the medium and long term.

If the Council wished to take advantage of the national auditor appointment arrangements, it was required under the local audit regulations to make the decision at full Council. The opt-in period had started on 22 September 2021 and would close on 11 March 2022.

At its meeting on 18 November, the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee had considered this report and had endorsed the recommendation in the report.

Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Resources, Councillor Tim Anderson, seconded by the Chairman of the Corporate Governance & Standards Committee, Councillor George Potter, the Council:

RESOLVED: That the Council accepts Public Sector Audit Appointments’ invitation to opt in to the sector-led option for the appointment of external auditors to principal local government and police bodies for five financial years from 1 April 2023.

Reason:

To enable the Council to comply with statutory obligations under Section 7 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

The Committee was reminded that, following the closure of the Audit Commission in 2015, the Council had considered options for the appointment of its external auditors in December 2016 and had agreed to opt-in to the appointing person arrangements made by Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) for the appointment of external auditors from 2018-19 for a period of five years up to and including the audit of the 2022-23 accounts. 

This arrangement would terminate on 31 March 2023.  The Council was now invited to consider arrangements for the re-appointment of its external auditor for a 5-year period from 2023-24. 

PSAA was now undertaking a procurement for the next appointing period, covering audits for 2023-24 to 2027-28. During Autumn 2021, all local government bodies needed to make important decisions about their external audit arrangements from 2023-24. They had options to arrange their own procurement and make the appointment themselves or in conjunction with other bodies, or they could join and take advantage of the national collective scheme administered by PSAA.

The Committee considered a report setting out the proposals for appointing the Council’s external auditor for the five-year period from 2023-24.

Officers considered that the sector-wide procurement conducted by PSAA would produce better outcomes and would be less burdensome for the Council than a procurement undertaken locally because:

• collective procurement reduced costs for the sector and for individual authorities compared to a multiplicity of smaller local procurements;
• if it did not use the national appointment arrangements, the Council would need to establish its own auditor panel with an independent chair and independent members to oversee a local auditor procurement and ongoing management of an audit contract;
• it was the best opportunity to secure the appointment of a qualified, registered auditor - there were only nine accredited local audit firms, and a local procurement would be drawing from the same limited supply of auditor resources as PSAA’s national procurement; and
• supporting the sector-led body offered the best way of ensuring there was a continuing and sustainable public audit market into the medium and long term.

If the Council wished to take advantage of the national auditor appointment arrangements, it was required under the local audit regulations to make the decision at full Council. The opt-in period started on 22 September 2021 and would close on 11 March 2022.

Having considered the proposals, and the options open to the Council, the Committee

RECOMMEND (to Council on 7 December 2021):

That the Council accepts Public Sector Audit Appointments’ invitation to opt into the sector-led option for the appointment of external auditors to principal local government and police bodies for five financial years from 1 April 2023.

Reason:

To enable the Council to comply with statutory obligations under Section 7 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

The Council considered a report on the appointment of external auditors for the five year period from 2018-19.  Councillors noted that with effect from the 2018-19 audits of accounts, Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) were responsible for appointing an auditor to principal local government and police bodies that had chosen to opt into its national auditor appointment arrangements.  At its meeting on 6 December 2016, the Council had resolved to opt-in to the appointing person arrangements made by PSAA. 

Grant Thornton UK LLP had been successful in winning a contract in the procurement process and had been recommended by PSAA as the Council’s auditors for a period of five years from 2018-19.  This appointment was made under Regulation 13 of the Local Audit (Appointing Person) Regulations 2015, and had been approved by the PSAA Board at its meeting on 14 December 2017.

Grant Thornton had also been appointed as auditors to nine Surrey Boroughs/ Districts and Surrey County Council.  There were no issues in respect of independence or any other reasons that would have prevented the appointment of Grant Thornton as auditors.

The matter had also been considered by the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee on 29 March 2018 as part of its consideration of the item on the External Audit Plan for 2017-18 and the Committee had endorsed the recommendation to appoint Grant Thornton. 

Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Finance and Asset Management, Councillor Michael Illman, seconded by the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Matt Furniss, the Council

RESOLVED: That, following conclusion of the tendering exercise conducted through Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd, Grant Thornton UK LLP be appointed as the Council’s auditors for a period of five years commencing with the audit of the 2018-19 Statement of Accounts.

Reason:

To comply with regulation 13 of the Local Audit (Appointing Person) Regulations 2015.