Decision details

The Director of Resources submitted a report asking members to consider the proposed response to the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) consultation on the fee scale for 2022/23.

The report informed Committee that the duty to specify scales of fees is one of the PSAA’s statutory functions and, before setting the scale of fees, they are required to consult with opted-in authorities, relevant representative associations of local authorities, and relevant bodies of accountants. The closing date for the consultation on the fee scale for 2022/23 was 30 September 2022. This would bring in some of the fee variations that are currently paid on top of the Scale Fee.

Under the proposals, the net Scale Fee for this Council (after PSAA fund the inflation factor from surpluses that councils would have otherwise received) was £36,769 (£33,956 2021/22). The report noted that this would not be the total of our audit fee, as other fee variations would be charged which were not proposed to be brought under the Scale Fee at that stage. In 2021/22 these amounted to a further £16,500 (subject to change following completion of 2021/22 audit) and HBAP grant work was also a further additional fee (£22,492 2021/22 and £23,617 proposed).

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Agree to the proposals made by the PSAA in respect of the Scale Fees for 2022/23.