A total of 216 disclaimed audit opinions have been issued by auditors to local government bodies as a result of the latest backstop date for the 2023-24 financial year.

All bodies within the sector who complete a statutory audit were required to publish their audited financial statements by 28 February 2025, with the deadline being set as part of the government’s solution to resolve the local audit crisis after a backlog of almost 1,000 individual years’ accounts had been built up. 

Data from Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA), which includes all local bodies that are covered by PSAA’s audit appointments scheme, highlights that close to half of the 459 bodies required to publish their audited accounts by the backstop date were disclaimed as a result of the backstop. 

A further two were disclaimed for other reasons, while eight audit opinions were qualified due to the backstop. 

Just 174 unmodified opinions were issued (38%), with a further six unmodified with additional disclosures.

Currently 48 audit opinions for 2023-24 are outstanding, including six authorities where there is an exemption due to a material objection or legal matter, or due to value-for-money arrangements work. 

How does this compare with 2022-23?

The current number of disclaimed opinions in 2023-24 is similar to the number of disclaimed opinions in 2022-23, with 219 having been issued as a result of the backstop (see box, below). However, with 48 audit opinions still outstanding in 2023-24 compared with 16 in 2022-23, it is likely that the final number of disclaimed opinions will ultimately be higher.

A total of 215 unmodified audit opinions have been issued for the 2022-23 financial year; 41 more than the current total for 2023-24. 

The expected increase in disclaimed opinions is likely to reflect the short period of time from the previous 2022-23 backstop date of 13 December 2024, as auditors were unable to gain the required assurances over the underlying local authority financial statements before the deadline.

Alison Ring, OBE FCA CPFA, ICAEW’s Director of Public Sector and Taxation, says: “The backstop dates were required to reset the system and restore financial accountability. ICAEW continues to work with local audit system partners to fundamentally reform the system and support the rebuilding of assurance over local authority financial statements.”