The Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulations 2015

PART 7 Fees for audit

Setting of fee scales for audits

21.—(1) A specified person must specify, before the start of the financial year to which the scale of fees relates, the scale or scales of fees for the audit of the accounts of opted in authorities for which it is responsible for appointing the local auditor.

(2) A scales of fees must relate to a particular financial year, but may be set for more than one financial year at a time.

(3) A specified person may vary the scale of fees which it has specified, but must not do so once the financial year to which the scale of fees relates has begun.

(4) Before specifying or varying any scale of fees, a specified person must consult—

(a) such representative associations of smaller authorities as appear to the specified person to be concerned, and

(b) such bodies of accountants as appear to the specified person to be appropriate.

(5) A scale of fees may take account of the costs or expenses and anticipated costs or expenses of—

(a) the specified person in respect of any function imposed by or under the Act;

(b) anything which is reasonably incidental or supplementary to the functions of the appointing person imposed by or under the Act;

(c) local auditors which are recoverable from authorities under the Act, specified in regulation 22(3).

(6) The scale of fees applicable to the audit of an authority—

(a) which became an opted in authority under regulation 14 or 15, or

(b) which is an exempt authority to which an auditor has been appointed under paragraph (3),

must be the same scale of fees as is applicable to other opted in authorities falling within the same class of authorities as the authority.

Setting of fee for audit

22.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the fee for the audit of the accounts of an opted in authority is to be set in accordance with the appropriate fee scale.

(2) If it appears to a specified person, on the basis of information supplied by the local auditor which it has appointed—

(a) that the work involved in a particular audit was substantially more or less than that envisaged by the appropriate scale, or

(b) any of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (3) apply,

the specified person may charge a fee which is larger or smaller than that referred to in paragraph (1) as appropriate.

(3) The costs or expenses of the local auditor recoverable from an authority under any of the following provisions of the Act are recoverable as part of the fee for the audit of the accounts of the opted in authority to which the costs or expenses relate—

(a) section 23(3) (offences relating to auditor’s right to documents and information);

(b) section 26(3) (inspection of documents etc);

(c) section 27(7) (right to make objections at audit);

(d) section 28(7) (declaration that item of account is unlawful);

(e) section 31(6) (power of auditor to apply for judicial review);

(f) paragraph 1(5) of Schedule 7 (public interest reports);

(g) paragraph 2(4) of Schedule 7 (written recommendations); and

(h) paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 8 (advisory notices).

(4) The specified person must notify the authority concerned of any larger or smaller fee, giving reasons.

Payment of fee

23.  An opted in authority must pay to the relevant specified person the fee set under regulation 22.