What did not go well in 2021/22

We were affected by Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic and the re-emergence of other respiratory viruses have significantly disrupted our ability to complete work.

We experienced reduced productivity due to Covid-19-related lockdowns and illness. Public organisations also haven’t always had the capacity to engage with us during planned time frames for audits and other work because of staff absences.

Lockdowns and isolation periods have made it difficult for audit teams and public organisations to work through issues together. We have had less timely access to records and key personnel. All of this has increased the time it has taken to complete work, alongside increased complexity of the work.

We did not complete all audits on time

This year, it has not been possible to complete all public sector audits within their statutory deadlines.

We have worked hard on what we can influence to manage this issue (see our auditing challenges during 2021/22 for a description of what we did).

We faced ongoing capacity challenges

There is no comprehensive short-term solution to the industry-wide global shortage of auditors. We are working on a range of measures to address this shortage over the medium to longer term.