The NAO is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog. Our work supports Parliament in holding the government to account and helps improve public services.
Our new five-year strategy has two clear ambitions – helping to improve the productivity and resilience of public services and supporting better financial management and reporting in government.
Government will need to innovate if it is to deliver effective and affordable public services. We will use our public audit perspective to highlight positive examples of innovation within the public sector and take account of government’s risk appetite in our audit approach.
Our new strategy sets out how we will achieve this by prioritising the quality of our work, ensuring it consistently meet the highest standards, so that it is trusted and credible.
We’ll also be focusing on enhancing our influence with effective insights and recommendations, to reinforce our messages and influence change.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said:
“Government is in an era of unprecedented complexity, grappling with demographic and climate change, rapid technological development and increased security threats. To tackle many of the challenges it’s facing, government will need to innovate to make the most of the available resources.
“Through our strategy, we will contribute to more productive and resilient public services, and better financial management and reporting in government. We will encourage well-managed innovation. I look forward to working with our stakeholders to achieve this.”
Read the NAO Strategy 2025-2030
