With charities such as museums and galleries relying increasingly on donations to supplement public grant funding, this report summarises the issues faced and best-practice management of the risks associated with donations as a source of income.
The NAO Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 provides details about our work and performance.
This report aims to evaluate and conclude on HM Treasury’s overall approach to over-indebtedness.
Optimism bias in public sector projects is not a new phenomenon. But it is one that persists, frequently undermining projects’ value for money as time and cost are under estimated and benefits over estimated. This report uses our back catalogue to illustrate the consequences of over optimism. In doing so, we have identified some contributory factors – such as project complexity and an organisation’s culture of challenge.
DCLG has made good progress in its design of 100% local business rates retention but faces a challenging timescale for delivery.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, has for the second successive year qualified his opinion on the financial statements of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S).
The Institute of Internal Auditors and the NAO released a set of case studies illustrating some of the key principles of effective internal auditing, taken from a range of public and private sector organisations (including British Telecom, Department for Work and Pensions, EDF etc).
Regulators and government need to work together better to ensure that vulnerable consumers get the support they need.
The BBC Trust today (18 March 2009) published an independent report it had commissioned from the National Audit Office on the BBC’s management of its strategic contracts with the private sector. Jeremy Peat, BBC Trustee, said: “The Trust welcomes this report from the NAO into the BBC’s strategic contracts. We are pleased that the NAO […]
The Audit Committee checklist is based on the Treasury’s Audit Committee Handbook and on feedback from staff and Audit Committees. Audit Committees can assess their performance against best practice using the checklist.
Data visualisation describing changes in English local authorities’ financial circumstances over the last decade.
This report reviews whether the Ministry of Defence has an effective approach to developing the capability of its regular forces, and how it is adapting to meet the new challenges.
This report contributes to the debate on incentivising public sector performance. It brings together the evidence on the effectiveness of sanctions and rewards (we commissioned Deloitte to conduct a review of the literature), summarises the results of our survey on their use in central government, and provides a practical guide on how to use them well. Discussions about how to lever greater levels of performance increasingly propose the use of these measures.
Achieving net zero by 2050 in the UK will require co-ordinated action by the UK and devolved governments, due to different challenges faced.
“Intelligent Monitoring” is the term we use for putting into practice the principles of good monitoring and for avoiding the pitfalls of poor practice in monitoring.
It is not possible to show that the Crown Commercial Service has achieved more than departments would otherwise have achieved by buying common goods and services themselves.
The NAO has published an update on the New Hospital Programme following government’s decision to reset the programme.
Explore examples where local public bodies have tried to make it easier for voluntary, community and social enterprises to bid for contracts.
The Whole of Government Accounts provide a unique perspective owing to their reach and approach to measuring the government’s financial performance and position.