Our vision is that public money is well spent to meet the needs of Scotland's people

To achieve this, we will provide clear, independent and objective assurance on how effectively public money is being managed and spent.

Our work covers about £59bn of public spending, almost 300 public sector accounts, and the services and projects that affect all people and communities in Scotland.

What we do

We deliver financial and performance audits on public bodies and the management of public services, policies and major projects. We also work with scrutiny partners and stakeholders to cover the wide range of services the public use and rely on.

Our work

Deliver annual audits on almost 300 public accounts, and statutory reports on issues found
Performance audits on public services, and Best Value reports on local authorities
Briefing and blogs on areas of public interest
National Fraud Initiative and housing benefit reports
Communications and engagement

Our work

Principles of audit

The Code of Audit Practice sets the principles for public audit:

Independence
Wider scope
Transparent public reporting
Relevance

Code of Audit Practice 2021

Our priorities 2023-28

Timely and impactful annual audit
Dynamic performance audit programme
Enhanced audit approaches
Developing our people and our business
Insights driving innovation and improvement

Corporate plan 2023-28

How we do it

Our values

Our values are at the heart of everything we do, from how we plan our business and approach our audits to how we behave and treat people.

Equality

Treat all people fairly and support them to have the best chance to progress and succeed
Broaden our culture of diversity and inclusion, so people are valued and engaged
Apply our standards of quality and professionalism to all our work
Embed equality in all we do, and support public bodies to address inequalities

Independence

Work in the public interest and for that interest only
Be apolitical and work free from interference or influence
Safeguard and protect our independence strongly
Make objective and evidence-based judgements and recommendations

Innovation

Innovate and continuously improve in all that we do
Experiment, try new approaches, learn, share ideas and think differently
Be proactive in changing what we do and how we do it
Ensure our work is accessible, relevant and efficient

Integrity

Be honest and principled, and act professionally and ethically
Be transparent and accurate, and base all actions on evidence and the public interest
Protect our honesty and objectivity in the face of pressure, enticements or personal opinions

Respect

Treat people with kindness, courtesy and empathy
Build supportive relationships based on trust and honesty
Seek to understand, and respect differences of opinion, approaches and background

Audit Scotland

Audit can drive change ...

We are responsive, innovative and ambitious in our work and in how we develop Audit Scotland as an organisation. We deliver our strategic priorities in three ways:

Assure:
Delivering core value

Provide assurance on public spending through high-quality audit work.
Protect the foundations for strong public audit by remaining a stable and reliable organisation.
Maintain and strengthen core activities, and recognise when approaches and products are outdated.

Improve:
Sustaining positive change

Support positive changes in public services through wider scope work and Best Value and performance audit products.
Maximise our impact and be more efficient and effective, through experimentation and innovation.

Transform:
Supporting transformation and reform

Share good practice and support innovation to facilitate radical changes in public services.
Deliver transformative innovation and radical changes in our audit approach and new ways of working.
Lead the public audit system in Scotland and thinking in the audit sector.

For more detail on how we apply this to each of our priorities, read our Corporate Plan.