NAO Deepens Analysis of Government Spending

The National Audit Office (NAO) has reviewed expenditure amounting to £1.7 trillion incurred by the UK government in the past year, and also reported that its work resulted in positive financial impact of £1.1bn.

As per its annual report and 2019-20 annual accounts, the National Audit Office (NAO) published 42 value for money reports on expenditure incurred by the government in addition to handling 7 EU exit outputs and 14 investigations.

The National Audit Office (NAO) certified more than 400 accounts in the last year. It also provided supporting evidence for 34 sessions of Public Accounts Committee.

During the past year, the NAO took on new audit responsibilities including for the S4C (Channel 4 Wales), Financial Report Council, and of the sponsor and delivery bodies carrying out the renewal and restoration of the Palace of Westminster.

The NAO has also set out a 5 year strategy for the period 2020-25, to accomplish three objectives.

The first objective is to improve the effectiveness of the scrutiny and accountability process, by upgrading/ updating its software and methodology to deliver quality audits using data analytics.

The second objective the NAO intends to achieve is regarding making better use of its audit and analytical expertise to identify ways in which public services can be made better. The purpose of all this is to produce more practical and insightful recommendations that lead to better results.

Finally, the office wants to provide more accessible insight, by synthesising its knowledge and expertise on critical issues and making it easier for others to understand as well as apply the lessons learned.