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Clackmannanshire Council - Audited Accounts Reporting Recovery Plan
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Clackmannanshire Council
Comhairle Siorrachd Chlach Mhanann
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Continued late reporting of audited accounts
At its meeting on 20 August 2026, Clackmannanshire Council formally considered the Accounts Commission’s findings in relation to the Controller of Audit’s Statutory Section 102 Report on the 2023/24 audit of Clackmannanshire Council – continued late reporting of audited accounts.
The Council agreed a report highlighting the findings, including:
• Despite repeated interventions by the Controller and the Commission during 2025 and early 2026 to obtain assurance on audit delivery, the Council’s 2023/24 accounts were not signed off until April 2026 – 19 months after the statutory deadline. Concerningly, the current plan for completing the 2024/25 and 2025/26 accounts points to worsening delays, without significant intervention and prioritisation. Going forward, we expect the Council to demonstrate collective leadership to develop a robust, resourced recovery plan, agreed with auditors, and submitted to the Controller by the end of July 2026.
• The Controller of Audit recognises the significant recruitment and retention challenges affecting finance professionals across Scottish local government and acknowledges the steps taken by the Council to address vacancies, strengthen capacity and manage long-term absence. The report also recognises the actions taken by the Council to review its finance structure, utilise agency support, explore collaborative service models through Transformation Through Collaboration and implement wider workforce planning measures.
• The Section 102 report confirms that the appointed auditor issued an unqualified audit opinion on the Council’s 2023/24 Annual Accounts. Recommendations made have been accepted and progress will be monitored to ensure completion within agreed timescales.
Actions agreed include:
• The jointly agreed robust, resourced recovery plan adopts an accelerated recovery approach designed to restore compliance with statutory reporting requirements whilst creating a more resilient and sustainable finance function.
• The recovery plan focuses on four key themes. Firstly, strengthening finance capacity through the appointment of a permanent Chief Accountant, continuation of interim leadership arrangements during transition and the proposed use of external specialist support. Secondly, improving year-end planning, audit readiness, working paper quality and financial reporting processes. Thirdly, strengthening governance and political oversight through enhanced reporting arrangements and regular engagement between the Council and its auditors. Finally, the plan seeks to utilise technology and modernisation opportunities to improve efficiency, collaboration and the preparation of annual accounts.
• Subject to successful implementation of these measures, the recovery timetable aims to achieve completion of the 2024/25 accounts by March 2027, completion of the 2025/26 accounts by October 2027, completion of the 2026/27 accounts by June 2028 and a return to statutory submission timescales for the preparation of draft accounts from 2027/28 onwards.
• Delivery of the recovery plan requires a significant financial commitment. The proposed investment reflects the scale of the challenge identified by the Accounts Commission and the clear expectation that the Council should implement a robust and properly resourced programme capable of restoring compliance with statutory financial reporting requirements. The recovery plan therefore includes investment in additional specialist capacity, temporary leadership support, enhanced year-end and audit readiness arrangements, improved project management of the audit process and technology-enabled improvements designed to strengthen resilience and accelerate recovery.
• Whilst officers consider this investment necessary and proportionate in order to address the findings of the Accounts Commission and implement the jointly agreed recovery plan, it is recognised that this represents a significant allocation of finite Council resources. Directing resources towards recovery activity will inevitably reduce financial flexibility and limit the Council’s ability to utilise those resources for other transformation priorities. However, it is considered that the proposed investment provides the most realistic and sustainable route to restoring statutory compliance, strengthening the resilience of the finance team and reducing the risk of further reporting delays in future years.
The full Controller of Audit report is published online at:
https://audit.scot/publications/clackmannanshire-council-annual-audit-202223
The Clackmannanshire Council report from 20 August 2026 is available to view and download at https://www.clacks.gov.uk/council/meetings/agenda/1296/
A recording of this meeting will be available online at
https://www.youtube.com/@ClacksCouncil/videos
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