STORY
The Government has appointed Bill Butler as the first chair of the Local Audit Office, the new body being established to strengthen oversight of local public audit. Public Finance reported that the appointment brings decades of public sector leadership experience to the organisation.
The Local Audit Office is intended to help address long running concerns over delays and capacity in local authority audit. Ministers have faced pressure to improve the timeliness and reliability of council accounts after years of backlogs across the sector.
The appointment is part of wider reform of the local audit system in England. Councils, auditors and finance professionals have argued that a stronger framework is needed to restore confidence in local public financial reporting.