Just over half of local government bodies – including unitary councils, fire, police and national park authorities - met the 2025 deadline, which was a deterioration from the previous year and the year before that. 

Auditor General Adrian Crompton said the situation now requires “urgent collective action” if Wales is to protect the high standards that underpin confidence in public spending. 

“Timely, accurate accounts are a cornerstone of public trust. When deadlines start to slip, so does transparency - and that carries real risks for governance, for decision‑making and for financial resilience.

“We’ve seen in England how prolonged backlogs can contribute to deeper financial problems. I am calling on every local government body to prioritise this work, strengthen capacity and work with us to get performance back on track.” 

The letters set out the actions needed across the sector to restore timely and high‑quality financial reporting. 

These include: 

• realistic and robust recovery plans, aligned with sector deadlines 
• high‑quality working papers and complete draft accounts submitted on time 
• consistent capacity within finance teams to resolve audit queries promptly
• investment in modern finance systems that improve accuracy and efficiency 
• collaboration across Wales, sharing expertise and strengthening resilience 

Adrian Crompton added: 

“Prolonged backlogs create risks for governance, reduce financial transparency, increase audit costs and make it harder for councils to plan effectively. 

“It’s essential that the local government sector responds to the issues in my letter if we are to avoid the serious financial challenges seen elsewhere.” 

Audit Wales will continue to work closely with the sector, professional networks and Welsh Government to support improvement, share good practice and help rebuild a sustainable, timely accounts process across the whole sector.