Given the important event coming up soon – and I don’t mean Christmas – I will focus on the safest topic I can think of: the future of audit and the Redmond Review. This is important as it is an opportunity to reset expectations of public sector audit and focus on what really matters to our residents.

This would include a greater focus on the value for money conclusion, resilience and sustainability and less on technical accounting adjustments that don’t mean much to the council taxpayer. There is a feeling we have lost track of what we are trying to achieve with financial reporting and audit framework and that radical change will be required to refocus. I think audit firms share our frustration with the current process and regulation, especially given the resource issues that have been apparent for the 2018/19 audit process.