Independent audit of leasehold service charges 2005/06
Independent audit of leasehold service charges 2005/06
In response to leaseholders' historic concerns over the accuracy of their service charges submitted by the Leaseholders Association of Southwark 2000, the Council agreed to commission an independent audit.
A joint steering group comprising three senior council officers and three leaseholder representatives elected by the Home Owners' Council was formed, chaired by the Council's Finance Director, to select the auditor and manage the audit process.
The review, carried out by leading auditors Grant Thornton, started in April 2008 and their findings were presented to the Home Owners' Council on 7 September 2009.
Overall the auditors found that systems and processes within the Council needed to be improved if they are to meet the demands of delivering clear and consistent service charge bills to a large leaseholder population of 14,500 Council leaseholders in the borough. The report contains seventeen recommendations including a review of systems for recording and allocating costs; a review of procurement and contract management procedures and improvements to the quality of information provided to leaseholders.
The auditors also praised the joint steering group as a good model of engaging with customers and recommended that it be retained to oversee the implementation of their recommendations. There is now an agreed action plan in place to address and implement the findings of the report. The joint Steering Group meets on a quarterly basis to monitor the progress of the actions, while Grant Thornton's services have been retained to validate those that have been completed.
