[Opinion] The Government's Watchdog Just Refused to Sign Off on Its Accounts - Due to Dodgy Data

The government's watchdog just refused to sign off on its accounts - due to dodgy data

The NAO has no idea whether or not local and national governments are spending their money wisely, effectively, honestly, or even legally

As 224 English local authorities submit unaudited accounts based on ‘dodgy data’, Scotland’s authorities have ‘state-run audit systems which have fared significantly better’

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Brian McGowan for alerting me to this: From the Canary factchecker today: The National Audit Office (NAO) has declined to sign off on the accuracy of the UK government’s national accounts for a second time, citing widespread unreliability in, and lack of, data supplied by local councils. The crux of the issue lies in the backlog of local authority audits, meaning only around a shocking 4% of English council…

Local audit crisis causes NAO to once again disclaim government’s accounts – Room151

Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), issued the first disclaimed opinion on the Whole of Government Accounts ever in 2022/23, due