Audit Commission decision faces inquiry
11 Nov 10
MPs will examine claims that open market solution to local authority work will raise costs
August’s shock decision to abolish the Audit Commission will be subject to an inquiry, which will investigate how its duties can best be delivered in the future, the Government has announced.
The inquiry follows claims by commission staff that putting the task of auditing local authority expenditure and performance out for tender in the open market may actually increase costs. Under the current system, around a third of the authority’s work is outsourced to Deloitte, Grant Thornton, KPMG, PKF and PwC.
The FRC has also weighed in, expressing concern that handing the commission's vast portfolio to the big audit firms would further entrench their dominant position; an issue which is currently under scrutiny elsewhere in Westminster.