Accounts Commission annual report 2017/18

As the public’s independent watchdog, the Commission provides assurance that public money is well spent, and at the same time through its findings and reports encourages improvement.

It has been a busy year for us as we published 14 local and national reports, all based upon the audit evidence from 32 councils, 30 health and social care integration authorities and 32 other local government bodies in Scotland.

We have increased the focus in Best Value in our annual audits. The feedback we have had from those councils who have taken part in what is a more challenging and performance related process so far has been largely positive.

I was privileged to be appointed Commission chair in November 2017. I am very grateful to my fellow Commission members for their support throughout the year, particularly to Ronnie Hinds, who took on the role of acting chair following the untimely death of Douglas Sinclair.

I also offer my thanks to Christine May, whose term of office ended in March, for her lively, insightful and very valuable contributions to our work over eight years’ service.

This is an exciting and challenging time for the Commission as the public sector embraces new ways of working, with an increased emphasis on prevention and improving outcomes to benefit local communities. Community empowerment will be an important theme in changing how councils work with their citizens and communities, and we have increasingly reflected in our work on what this means for councils.

I want the Commission to be at the centre of the change agenda over the coming year, working with other scrutiny bodies and partners to provide robust assurance for the public.