Our work programme
Our work programme sets out the audit work we plan to deliver during 2025/26. This includes:
- Auditor General for Scotland-led work in central government
- Accounts Commission-led work in councils and local government
- Joint work by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission where there are areas of common interest
- Audit Scotland work that contributes to the strategic themes agreed by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission.
This programme of work sits alongside our annual audit work.
The Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission are committed to ensuring public audit in Scotland:
- provides assurance and information and supports scrutiny about financial sustainability, financial management, governance and transparency and value for money across public service delivery in Scotland
- provides high quality, evidence-led audit judgements and recommendations that help improve the use of public money.
We review and update our work programme regularly to ensure it responds to changing circumstances.
Our programme focuses on the following themes:
- Public finances
- Reform and sustainable services
- Economic growth and wellbeing
- Environmental sustainability and climate change
- Inequalities and poverty
- People and communities
Planned audit work for 2025/26
The tables below summarise planned audit work for 2025/26. Check back to this page regularly for updates.
We will add details on the type of product planned and links to our audit scopes and reports when these are available.
 | AGS |
|---|---|
 | AC |
 | AS |
| Joint Report by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission | AGS & AC |
Coming in the next few months
| Audit product | Author | Publication date | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit product: Best Value thematic report: Workforce innovation | Author: AC | Publication date: 7 August 2025 | Contact: [email protected] |
| Audit product: Performance audit: Building community resilience in flooding | Author: AGS & AC | Publication date: 28 August 2025 | Contact: [email protected] |
Our full programme
To find out more about the broad range of work that we do, and explain our products, visit our What we do page.
| Audit work in 2025/26 | Author |
|---|---|
| Administration of Scottish Income Tax (Annual report) | AGS |
| Best Value in policing (Performance audit) | AGS & HMICS |
| Courts backlog (Briefing) | AGS |
| Fiscal sustainability and taxes (Performance audit) | AGS |
| Forth Valley College (Section 22) | AGS |
| Lews Castle College (Section 22) | AGS |
| NHS in Scotland 2025 (Overview report) | AGS |
| NHS spotlight on Governance (Performance audit) | AGS |
| Scotland’s Colleges 2025 (Briefing) | AGS |
| Scottish Government (Section 22) | AGS |
| Scottish National Investment Bank (Performance audit) | AGS |
| Social security and Adult Disability Payment (Performance audit) | AGS |
| Aberdeenshire Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Argyll and Bute Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Best Value Thematic: Workforce innovation | AC |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| East Lothian Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Glasgow City Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Glasgow City Council (Section 102) | AC |
| The Highland Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Integration Joint Boards Finance bulletin 2024/25 (Briefing and data) | AC |
| Local government in Scotland (Briefing) | AC |
| Local government in Scotland: Council budgets 2025/26 (Overview Report) | AC |
| Local government in Scotland: spotlight - Culture and leisure services | AC |
| North Ayrshire Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| North Lanarkshire Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Renfrewshire Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Shetland Islands Council (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Stirling Council AC (Controller of Audit Best Value report) | AC |
| Building resilience to flooding (Performance audit) | AGS & AC |
| Education and Skills reform (Briefing) | AGS & AC |
| Delayed discharges (Performance audit) | AGS & AC |
| Improving care experience: Delivering The Promise (Performance audit) | AGS & AC |
| Integration Authorities performance (Briefing and data) | AGS & AC |
| Climate change: lessons learned | AS |
Our principles
These principles will underpin how we plan and deliver our work programme. Some will be more prominent than others depending on the nature of the audit activity. We will continue to develop how we apply them in practice.
Providing assurance and driving improvement
We will use our unique local and national perspective to provide assurance on how effectively public money is being managed and spent. We will aim to provide insight and learning, and drive improvement, innovation and transformational change.
Taking a risk-based and proportionate approach
We will ensure our audit response is proportionate and risk-based, and that audited bodies have clear advance notice of any planned work.
Taking a person-centred approach
Where we can, we will capture the needs and concerns of the people who use public services through our audit work.
Being flexible and agile
We will adapt our work programme as new issues emerge or risks change. We will use a range of approaches to report our audit work.
Integrating cross cutting issues
We will integrate thinking on issues that cut across policy areas and have an impact on citizens and service users throughout our audit work. For example: prevention, digital, inequality and human rights, climate change, community engagement.
