Issue(s) Financial management Parent department Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Related documents | Our work on the audit of the accounts of the British Council identified possible material error in its accruals balances. The Council decided to investigate these balances and re-present their accounts to avoid the possibility of a qualified audit opinion. As a result, sign-off was delayed for a period of five months while its investigation reviewed processes and eventually identified errors of £8.9 million. | Impact: Improvement actions have been taken including: kick-starting a number of related projects; increased scrutiny over accruals balances, particularly in relation to old un-cleared transactions; revised approval processes for high-value accruals; and better training for in-country and shared service centre staff. The new Chief Financial Officer has welcomed our work and continued engagement, which has given her a valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities that she and her team face in improving the Council's financial management and staff capability and capacity. |