Nottingham’s Audit Backlog Crisis

Nottingham’s council is spending over $600,000 a year auditing old financial records — a costly relic of the 2015 shutdown of the public Audit Commission. With only a handful of private firms left to handle audits, backlogs are crippling local governments, forcing councils to sign off on outdated accounts without full assurance of accuracy. Critics, including former Ofsted inspector Andrew Middleton, call it “historic navel-gazing” — a waste of taxpayer cash when there’s no fraud to uncover. Middleton argues the government could simply write off old debt, urging a smarter focus on current services. Finance director Stuart Fair admits the situation is nationwide and says he’s personally risking his reputation to ensure compliance — while also seeking guidance from professional bodies and possibly lobbying the government for change. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/018859def484ac16