The value of an annual audit

Fundamentally, the value of an audit lies in the fact that an audit has been done. Someone independent with specialist skills and training has tested a public organisation’s financial and performance information against robust standards and with a sceptical eye. They have provided their opinion and given the reader reasonable assurance that the information presented is fairly stated.

Beyond that intrinsic value, when auditors consider how fairly a public organisation has presented its financial position and its achievements, they also add value through reporting on:

• what could be improved;
• which controls could be stronger; and
• whether the performance reported fairly reflects what the organisation has achieved.

However, fundamentally a public sector audit is about reporting to the governors of public organisations, Councils, Parliament, and through them to the public about whether the information a public organisation has provided on their performance is fairly stated. This allows them to hold these organisations to account for their performance.