How is the quality of service at Audit Commission maintainedup to mark?
Living in a safe community that provides such a wide range of
public services is easy to take for granted. Even as students, the
list of all the products and facilities that are provided for you
is endless. The roads, schools and colleges, sports centres, parks,
youth clubs, services of the police, hospitals, ambulances,
teachers and nurses are all supplied by public money to create a
certain standard of life.
An 'audit' is a formal examination of a set of accounts to see
that they are true and fair. It is also a check of quality and
efficiency. It involves a proces of finding things out. In the
public sector where public money has been raised from taxes and
other sources, this is key as it helps to make sure it is used
properly. This case study looks at the work of the Audit Commission
as well as the roles of some of the people who work for it. The
Audit Commission is an independent public body that ensures public
money in areas such as local government, housing, health, criminal
justice and fire and rescue services is spent efficiently.
Although the Audit Commission is an independent body, it is
accountable to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). This
means that its actions must be explained to the ODPM.
By undertaking an audit of a local authority, auditors can find
out if the accounts are correct. It can also see whether money has
been spent unlawfully. This is so it can confirm there has been no
fraud. The Audit Commission can also inspect operations of the
local authority to find out how they are performing and whether
they are effective.
If they find any problems, the auditors and inspectors report to
the people who make the highest decisions within that local
authority. This is known as a process of governance. Decisions are
then made to improve the way that money is spent, to provide better
value for money that comes from taxation and other sources. This
also