We help the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission with monitoring public money...
The Accounts Commission is the public spending watchdog for local government...
The Auditor General for Scotland is responsible for the audit of most public bodies...
The Accounts Commission is the public spending watchdog for local government. We hold councils in Scotland to account and help them improve.
We operate impartially and independently of councils and of the Scottish Government and we meet and report in public.
The Commission is responsible for coordinating and facilitating scrutiny in local government.
The Controller of Audit is a statutory post established alongside the Commission in 1975. The Controller reports to the Commission and highlights areas of concern.
Read the Accounts Commission’s latest newsletter. This update highlights the Commission’s work since March 2020, including planned reporting in 2021.
Read more about the Commission's role, duties and powers (PDF | 47KB). - Opens in a new window
The Commission has adopted the following principles to help it guide its work
and fulfil its responsibilities during the Covid-19 emergency:
The Code of Audit Practice shapes and defines the independent audit of public bodies in Scotland. It supports democratic scrutiny of how public money is spent and what impact spending this...
Scotland’s councils reacted quickly, working alongside communities and partners, to address the unprecedented challenges created by Covid-19. Many challenges remain significant, made more...
The Commission publishes financial audits on each council in Scotland and an annual overview report on local government, as well as individual reports about council services.
Our strategy and annual action plan outlines our priorities for the coming year. Read more about our strategy.
Find out more about what we do in our short video.
The City of Edinburgh Council can do more to fulfil its potential and further improve the lives of citizens.
Responding to Covid-19 has increased the pace at which Scotland's 32 councils are delivering services through digital technology.
Covid-19 has changed our lives. Responding to it has changed how public services are delivered and how we scrutinise them.
As well as auditing all local authorities in Scotland, the Commission looks at any issues arising from those audits and how well bodies are meeting Best Value duties. Find out more about each of the areas below:
Our next meeting takes place on Thursday 12 August 2021.
Find out more in our meeting papers.
Commission member Sheila Gunn shares insight into our discussions, how we hold councils to account and previews our Annual Report.
The public in general are our principal stakeholder but we engage with a wide range of others.
Who we engage with:
Audit Scotland
