Financial experts have called for a public inquiry into Birmingham City Council's decision to issue a section 114 notice.
An open letter raising questions about the s114 notice issued by the local authority in 2023 has been signed by 35 accounting experts and academics.
The letter to local government secretary Steve Reed claimed the notice was based on ‘unaudited' and ‘materially incorrect' accounting information.
In a supporting analysis, James Brackley, a lecturer in accounting at the University of Glasgow, argued the council ‘appears to have both overstated its project budget deficits and materially underestimated its available funds'.
Brackley said: ‘The accounts of Birmingham City Council now show that Birmingham was likely never bankrupt, with the scale of the accounting misstatements that led to the bankruptcy looking absolutely unprecedented.'
However, Birmingham's commissioners have argued that claims the council was in reasonable financial health were ‘entirely incorrect and based on a flawed analysis and a fundamental misunderstanding'.
They argued it is only since the statutory intervention that the local authority has managed to make progress with its financial issues.
