Auditors act as watchdogs of public finance at the local level. They formally audit the accounts of local government and NHS bodies and produce value-for-money (VFM) reports on the individual audited bodies to help them to improve their services. Auditors also audit councils' annual best value performance plans.

Public audit is far broader than that carried out in the private sector and places highly demanding duties and responsibilities on the auditors, and the complexities of local government and the NHS require that auditors have special audit knowledge. The Audit Commission takes this into account when deciding on the appointment of auditors to any local authority or NHS body. The Commission appoints in-house auditors or auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers, an approved private accountancy firm to undertake audits in Wales. From 2002, the Commission will also appoint KPMG and Deloitte and Touche to undertake work in Wales.

Named auditors are appointed to carry out the audits, after consultation with the NHS body or local authority concerned. The Audit Commission also operates a regular programme of market testing for a selection of audit appointments and carefully monitors auditors' performance through its annual programme of quality control reviews.

For more details on the audit process, or to find out who audits your authority, see Appointing Auditors and the Code of Audit Practice on the main Audit Commission website.