Our work programme
Our work programme sets out the audit work we plan to deliver during 2023/24. This includes:
- Auditor General for Scotland-led work in central government
- Accounts Commission-led work in councils and local government
- Joint work by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission where there are areas of common interest
- Audit Scotland work that contributes to the strategic themes agreed by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission.
The Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission are committed to ensuring public audit in Scotland:
- provides assurance and information and supports scrutiny about financial sustainability, financial management, governance and transparency and value for money across public service delivery in Scotland
- provides high quality, evidence-led audit judgements and recommendations that help improve the use of public money.
Our work programme is dynamic and we review and update it every three months to ensure it responds to changing circumstances.
Planned audit work for 2023/24
The tables below summarise planned audit work for 2023/24. Check back to this page regularly for updates.
We will add details on the type of product planned and links to our audit scopes and reports when these are available.
Table key:
 |
AGS |
|---|---|
 |
AC |
 |
AS |
| Joint Report by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission | AGS & AC |
Coming in the next few months
| Audit product | Author | Publication date | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit product: Dundee City Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | Author: AC | Publication date: 30 November 2023 | Contact: bdeans@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
| Audit product: NHS Forth Valley (Section 22 report) | Author: AGS | Publication date: 5 December 2023 | Contact: pmcfall@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
| Audit product: Scottish Prison Service (Section 22 report) | Author: AGS | Publication date: 12 December 2023 | Contact: pmcfall@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
| Audit product: Social Care work programme (Blog) | Author: AC | Publication date: 14 December 2023 | Contact: KSibbald@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
| Audit product: Water Industry Commissioner (Section 22 report) | Author: AGS | Publication date: 19 December 2023 | Contact: pmcfall@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
| Audit product: Dumfries and Galloway Council (Controller of Audit Best Value Report) | Author: AC | Publication date: 11 January 2024 | Contact: bdeans@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
| Audit product: Local Government Financial Bulletin 2022/23 (Briefing) | Author: AC | Publication date: 18 January 2024 | Contact: bdeans@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
| Audit product: Administration of Scottish Income Tax 2022/23 (Annual Report) | Author: AGS | Publication date: 19 January 2024 | Contact: rrobinson@audit-scotland.gov.uk |
Our full programme
To find out more about the broad range of work that we do, and explain our products, visit our work pages.
Economic recovery and growth
We'll look at how public money is being used to support economic recovery and the renewal of public services including:
- Public finances
- Supporting economic development and growth
- Skills and training
- Infrastructure investment and low carbon economy
- Impact of EU withdrawal
| Audit work in 2023/24 | Author |
|---|---|
| Investing in Scotland’s infrastructure (Briefing) | AGS |
| National Strategy for Economic Transformation (Briefing) | AGS |
| Scotland's City Region and Growth Deals: Progress of the 2020 audit report recommendations (Briefing) | AGS & AC |
Governance and accountability
We’ll look at how public bodies are ensuring proper and effective use of public money across the public sector and within individual bodies including:
- Following the pandemic pound
- Collaborative leadership
- Fraud risks
- Effective scrutiny
- Annual audits
| Audit work in 2023/24 | Author |
|---|---|
| Administration of Scottish Income Tax 2022/23 | AGS |
| Statutory reports: section 22s | AGS |
| Scotland’s colleges 2023 (Briefing) | AGS |
| Integration Joint Boards: Financial analysis 2021/22 (Briefing) | AC |
| Local government financial bulletin 2022/23 | AC |
|
Statutory reports: Controller of Audit Best Value reports:
|
AC |
| Statutory reports: section 102s | AC |
| Annual audits | AGS & AC |
| Annual fraud and irregularity report 2022/23 | AS |
Innovation and transformation
We’ll look at how public bodies are learning through continuous improvement, innovation and by transforming public services including:
- Local government
- NHS
- Best Value
- Service redesign
- Digital transformation
- Workforce planning
- Policing
| Audit work in 2023/24 | Author |
|---|---|
| NHS in Scotland 2023 | AGS |
| The Scottish Government's workforce challenges (Briefing) | AGS |
| Best Value in Scotland | AC |
| Local government in Scotland Overview 2023 | AC |
Policy priorities and commitments
We’ll look at progress on key policy commitments and public services’ ability to deliver on long-term strategic priorities and outcomes, including:
- Health and social care integration
- Early learning and childcare
- School education
- Community empowerment
- Community justice
- Courts backlogs
- Climate change
- Social care
- National Care Service
- Drug and alcohol services
| Audit work in 2023/24 | Author |
|---|---|
| Criminal courts backlog (Performance audit) | AGS |
| How the Scottish Government is set up to deliver climate change goals (Performance audit) | AGS |
| Climate Change: Decarbonising Heat in Homes (Performance Audit) | AGS |
| Legal Aid Reform (Blog) | AGS |
| Social Care work programme (Blog) | AC |
| Early learning and childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion (Performance audit) | AGS & AC |
| Community Justice (Performance audit) | AGS & AC |
| Approaches to achieving net zero across the UK (Briefing) | AS |
Inequalities and human rights
We’ll look at how Covid-19 is impacting on different groups in society, focusing on the risk of deepening existing inequalities. Our work will help to ensure public bodies address inequalities and protect human rights, recognising the multiple ways people experience disadvantage and poorer outcomes. Key areas of focus include:
- Child poverty
- Children and young people with additional support needs
- Care experienced children and young people
- Mental health
- Housing benefit
- Digital exclusion
- Social security
| Audit work in 2023/24 | Author |
|---|---|
| Adult mental health services (Performance audit) | AGS & AC |
| Homelessness affects us all - action is needed (Blog) | AGS & AC |
Our principles
These principles will underpin how we plan and deliver our work programme. Some will be more prominent than others depending on the nature of the audit activity. We will continue to develop how we apply them in practice.
Providing assurance and driving improvement
We will use our unique local and national perspective to provide assurance about how Scotland’s public services are responding to Covid-19. We will aim to provide insight and learning, and drive improvement, innovation and transformational change as Scotland moves towards recovery and renewal.
Taking a risk-based and proportionate approach
We recognise the potential impact of audit work on people working in public services who are still responding to Covid-19. We will ensure our audit response is proportionate and risk-based, and that audited bodies have clear advance notice of any planned work.
Taking a person-centred approach
Where we can, we will capture the needs and concerns of the people who use public services through our audit work.
Being flexible and agile
We will adapt our work programme as new issues emerge or risks change. We will use a range of approaches to report our audit work.
Integrating cross cutting issues
We will integrate thinking on issues that cut across policy areas and have an impact on citizens and service users throughout our audit work. For example: prevention, digital, inequality and human rights, climate change, community engagement