Monitor - Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts
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Audit Code for NHS Foundation Trusts
Published on: 31 March 2011
This is the revised version of the code, which applies to audits and auditors of NHS foundation trusts from 1 April 2011 onwards. The latest, revised version is similar in content to the previous version (published in October 2007). The main amendments are outlined on this page below.
Download - Audit Code for NHS Foundation Trusts - (164.18 KB)
This latest, revised version of the code is similar in content to the previous version, with the following main amendments:
Quality report changes
Content has been added covering auditors’ new responsibilities in respect of the quality report, and examples where an audit certificate may be qualified, have been extended to include reference to where the opinion on the quality report has been qualified.
Changes in light of quality governance proposals for NHS foundation trusts
Auditors’ additional responsibilities in respect of the Statement on Internal Control (to be known as the Annual Governance Statement in the future) linked to Monitor’s proposals for including quality governance arrangements within the Statement on Internal Control.
Changes to reflect amendments in the Companies Act and Code of Audit Practice
• New guidance on the handover of audits (to align the code with the new requirements of the Companies Act in this area);
• Additional guidance on the handling of confidential data (to align the code with the Audit Commission’s Code of Audit Practice 2010 for local NHS bodies); and
• General updates to references to legislation, auditing standards, ethical standards and other external references where these have changed since the code was last issued.
Other changes
• Clarification of Monitor’s process for reviewing the quality of audit work undertaken each year, arising from suggestions made in the course of the 2010 quality review exercise undertaken on Monitor’s behalf by the Quality Assurance Directorate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; and
• Additional guidance on Monitor’s expectations of auditors where a foundation trust has been found to be in significant breach in relation to targets and standards during the period subject to audit.
The code has not been issued for public consultation, prior to publication, as it has been the subject of considerable review and consultation in Monitor’s Technical Issues Forum (TIF). The membership of TIF includes representatives of HM Treasury, the National Audit Office, the Audit Commission and each of the accounting firms auditing NHS foundation trusts.
