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 more about the Commission's role, duties and powers (PDF | 47KB). - Opens in a new window
Follow us on Twitter @AccCommScot.
The Commission has adopted the following principles to help it guide its work
and fulfil its responsibilities during the Covid-19 emergency:
Argyll and Bute Council needs to build on its good financial management and relationship with residents as it looks to change the way it delivers services. A report by the Accounts...
Elma Murray OBE has been appointed the interim chair of the Accounts Commission, following the resignation of Graham Sharp from the role. Dr Sharp has served on the Commission since 2009...
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.
Our annual overview found that most of Scotland's councils are increasingly relying on money from reserves to keep up with demand for services and balance their budgets.
We reported that the council has ambitious plans for developing the area and improving services, and it now needs to work with partners to better involve and engage with residents and staff to achieve these.
Our report looked at how councils are using arm's-length external organisations in Scotland and the impact they are making.
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:
The Commission held its first ever virtual formal meeting on 7 May.
The Commission is keen, as the public watchdog, that it conducts it's business as transparently as possible, so the meeting was recorded and will be available soon. Contact us if you would like to be informed when this is available.
The business covered by the Commission was:
The next meeting will be on 11 June.
The public in general are our principal stakeholder but we engage with a wide range of others.
Who we engage with:
Audit Scotland
