Aberdeen City Council faces further turmoil after its external auditors delivered a serious blow to its financial credibility. A leaked report from auditor Henderson and Loggie revealed it had given the council only a qualified opinion of its accounts because the company had found insufficient evidence to rule out the possibility of fraud or financial irregularities. An Audit Scotland spokesman said: ‘The external auditors were carrying out their annual audit, and gave a qualified opinion on the accounts. ‘The controller of audit, Caroline Gardner, will now be drawing it to the attention of the Accounts Commission, and a follow-up will be carried out.' The council declined to comment on the external audit. This is the latest in a series of problems for the council. In May this year, following a best value audit and public hearing into the council, the Accounts Commission concluded the council was ‘facing extremely serious challenges', and said it would need external help to move forward.
