Public Sector Audit

Public money brings public accountability: framework-driven reporting, funder assurance, value-for-money expectations and scrutiny from members, boards and residents. We audit the companies, charities and bodies that sit in and around the public sector, and certify the grants that flow through them — with reporting that stands up to committee questioning.

Who We Work With

Local authority trading companies (LATCos) and joint ventures; arm's-length management organisations (ALMOs); subsidiaries and charities connected to public bodies; NHS-linked companies and providers; registered providers of social housing; leisure, culture and regeneration trusts; and public bodies requiring independent assurance over programmes and grants. Public-interest scrutiny applies whatever the legal form — our audits are built to withstand it.

Auditing Council-Owned and Public-Interest Companies

Companies owned by councils and public bodies follow Companies Act audit requirements like any other company — with added complexity: state support and going concern reliance on the parent authority, service contracts with the owner that dominate revenue, subsidy control considerations, and governance arrangements answerable to elected members. Audited accounts are frequently required by shareholders and funders even where a size-based exemption might technically be available. We deliver audits that satisfy both Companies House and the shareholder committee.

Government Funding and Grant Assurance

Public sector organisations live on conditional funding. We audit grant recognition, deferred income and clawback provisions, certify grant claims to funder-specified formats, verify match funding, and test procurement compliance where funding rules impose it. Our grant audit team works to the funder's terms and deadline — because a late certificate can hold up the next tranche of funding.

Public Sector Accounting Frameworks

Reporting frameworks vary across the ecosystem: Companies Act accounts under FRS 102 for trading companies, the Charities SORP for connected charities, the Housing SORP and regulator's accounting direction for registered providers, and IFRS-based frameworks (including HM Treasury's Financial Reporting Manual) for certain public bodies. We work across all of them and help finance teams manage group boundaries and consolidation questions where an authority's family of entities has grown complex.

Value for Money and Governance Assurance

Beyond the statutory opinion, boards and scrutiny committees increasingly want assurance over economy, efficiency and effectiveness: value-for-money reviews of services and programmes, governance and internal control reviews, and independent reporting that supports transparency obligations. We scope these engagements to the decision you need to make, not to a boilerplate framework.

Why Choose Acumon for Public Sector Work

Audit teams experienced across companies, charities and regulated bodies; reporting written for mixed audiences — finance professionals, elected members, boards and residents; a portal-based process that respects stretched public sector finance teams; and fixed fees that procurement can defend. We understand that in this sector, how you spent it matters as much as how much.

What You Get With Acumon

• Local authority trading companies, joint ventures and ALMOs
• Charities, trusts and subsidiaries connected to public bodies
• Registered providers of social housing
• Grant certification and funder assurance to specified formats
• FRS 102, Charities SORP, Housing SORP and FReM-based frameworks
• Value for money and governance reviews
• Committee-ready reporting for members, boards and residents

Why Acumon for Public Sector Audit?

• ICAEW-registered and FRC-authorised audit firm
• Experience across companies, charities and regulated entities in the public sector ecosystem
• Grant audit and certification capability to funder deadlines
• 90+ UK-based staff with portal-based, low-disruption delivery

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.