11/04/2011
Thank you for your email of 22 March 2011 clarifying that your reference to "Authorities" in your request of 16 March 2011 for "a simple list of any Authorities under your remit where the 2010 audit remains unclosed (i.e. the audit of the 2009-2010 financial year)" was a reference to any public bodies.
I attach a table, Closure of local authority audits 09-10 delivered by WAO staff, that sets out the dates of auditors' certification of completion of audits of authorities in accordance with Chapter 2 of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004, as recorded on 16 March 2011. The absence of a date in the "Certificate Date" column indicates that the audit remains open, and this table therefore meets your request.
Please note that the Wales Audit Office is, itself, not required to audit any public bodies. The term Wales Audit Office is a term to describe the Auditor General for Wales and his staff. Audit functions in relation to Welsh public bodies are functions of the Auditor General for Wales, and, in the case of local authorities, the Auditor General has the function of appointing auditors rather than undertaking the audits himself. Such auditors may be members of the Auditor General's staff or other persons, chiefly accountancy firms.
Please also note that the Closure of local authority audits 09-10 delivered by WAO staff.pdf table does not include closure information for authorities where the audit is delivered by a firm rather than by staff of the WAO (other than in the case of joint appointments). Given that where firms are appointed auditors the legal function of delivering the audit rests with the firm, we do not always hold such information. Since receiving your request, however, we have gathered such information for those county councils, county borough councils and fire authorities whose audits are delivered by firms. This is summarised in the attached table, Closure of audits 09-10 delivered by firms, and you may find this information relevant.
Neither table includes audits that are not subject to the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 Chapter 2 completion certification provisions, such as the audits of the accounts of the Welsh Ministers and the Assembly Commission, which are done under other legislation. This is because the term "closure" is only relevant to local authorities; it is not relevant to other audits, as there are no completion certification provisions in the relevant legislation. Instead, such legislation requires that the accounts are examined, certified and laid before the Assembly by a statutory deadline.
I have not applied any exemptions, but if you wish to complain about my handling of your request, please email me. If you have any questions, please either email me or call me on 029 2032 0526.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Peters
Rheolwr Cydymffurfiaeth a Swyddog Gwybodaeth/Compliance Manager & Information Officer
Swydddfa Archwilio Cymru/Wales Audit Office
029 2032 0526
Closure of local authority audits 09-10 delivered by WAO staff