Audit Scotland is an independent

public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

responsible for

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

ing most of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

's public organisations. These include the Scottish Government, local councils and NHS Scotland.

Auditing role

It audits over 220 organisations, including: * 77 central government bodies (Scottish Government, NDPB's,

Police Scotland Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...

, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Scottish Water and others) * 23 NHS bodies * 32 local councils * 20

further education colleges Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

History

Audit Scotland was established in 2000. It employees a staff of around 250 people. Its corporate HQ is on West Port, in

Edinburgh's Old Town The Old Town ( sco, Auld Toun) is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-cent ...

. The role of Audit Scotland is to provide the

Auditor General for Scotland The Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) is the public official in charge of the Audit Scotland, the body responsible for auditing most of Scotland's public bodies, except local authorities. The Auditor General oversees the scrutiny of how publi ...

and the

Accounts Commission for Scotland The Accounts Commission for Scotland is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The Commission audits Scottish local government and associated public bodies. With the passing of the Public Finance and Accountabili ...

with the services they need to carry out their duties. The core work is to carry out: *

financial audit A financial audit is conducted to provide an opinion whether "financial statements" (the information is verified to the extent of reasonable assurance granted) are stated in accordance with specified criteria. Normally, the criteria are internat ...

s to help ensure that

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

bodies adhere to the highest standards of financial management and governance *

performance audit Performance audit refers to an independent examination of a program, function, operation or the management systems and procedures of a governmental or non-profit entity to assess whether the entity is achieving economy, efficiency and effectivenes ...

s to help ensure that these bodies achieve the best possible

value for money In economics, economic value is a measure of the benefit provided by a good or service to an economic agent. It is generally measured through units of currency, and the interpretation is therefore "what is the maximum amount of money a specif ...

. Stephen Boyle is the Auditor General for Scotland and the accountable officer for Audit Scotland. He started his term of office in July 2020. The work of Audit Scotland is governed by a

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...

which meets around four times a year: the audits are managed by a management team. The Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee of the Scottish Parliament examines Audit Scotland's proposals for the use of resources and expenditure, then reports to the Scottish Parliament.

References

External links

* New Town, Edinburgh Organisations based in Edinburgh Public bodies of the Scottish Government

Public finance of Scotland 2000 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 2000 Auditing in the United Kingdom Auditing organizations {{finance-stub

Auditing role

History

See also

References

External links