Colchester City Council acknowledges it is one of 68 councils flagged by the Government as being behind schedule with external audit of their accounts, in large part given national issues and the limited capacity of external auditors.
Unaudited accounts have been published to 31 March 2023, but these have yet to independently externally audited which would enable a full review by the council’s Governance and Audit committee.
The council regrets these delays, which affect the years ending 31 March 2021, 31 March 2022, and 31 March 2023. But is working diligently alongside external auditors to progress through the backlog to be fully up to date later this year.
Cllr David King, Leader of Colchester City Council, commented: “We understand the importance of audited accounts in maintaining public trust and accountability. Like many councils across the country, we have had challenges with our finance capacity and nationwide audit delays. We can reassure residents that there have been no significant concerns raised. And we have a back history of timely and accurate accounts over the past 50 years. We are committed to responsible financial management and to doing all we can to make progress on unaudited accounts with our new auditors.”
The council’s financial resilience has been independently endorsed, by recent Section 151 Officer, Andrew Small. A position now supported by his successor S151 Officer, Anna D’Allesandro. She will help ensure that the council work proactively with our external auditors and relevant bodies towards the timely completion of our outstanding accounts and will provide updates as progress is made.
The Government has previously acknowledgment that nationally the current audit and assurance arrangements are failing. This was underscored by a backlog of nearly 1,000 unaudited accounts across England and the fact that only one percent of councils and other local bodies published audited accounts on time last year.
The council agrees with the Government's assessment that these failures stem from limited auditing capacity, poor coordination, and overly complex financial reporting and audit requirements. The council will continue to contribute to the Government’s consultation on reforms, advocating for meaningful changes to address these systemic issues.
Page last reviewed: 7 March 2025