Watchdog wants 'no more surprises' after audit row

REPORT CRITICISING THE COUNCIL AS 'INEFFECTIVE' CAUSED TENSION BETWEEN SENIOR LOCAL AUTHORITY FIGURES AND THEIR AUDITORS

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

A COUNCIL watchdog says it wants no more surprises, after a report raising red flags over a local authority's finances sparked a major row.

Earlier this month, an audit of Newcastle City Council's finances labelled the council “ineffective” in multiple areas, accusing it of failing to provide proper information on taxpayer funds and of making multiple misstatements totalling millions of pounds.

That led a senior Labour councillor to brand auditors EY “abysmal” and caused confusion among the council’s audit and standards committee over the seriousness of the findings. Having initially refused to sign off on the council’s 2024-25 accounts because of the questions, the committee has now done so.