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The Audit Commission has warned that the success of partnerships between local government, the health service and charities could be threatened by poor financial governance, writes Lindsay Clark.

The commission found that 61 per cent of local government partnerships do not have comprehensive, formal partnership agreements in place to establish the governance of those partnerships, the Audit Commission report found. 

The lack of formal governance arrangements for partnerships may inhibit the achievement of the partnerships’ objectives and increase the potential for breakdown in governance arrangements and controls, according to the report.

Steve Bundred, Chief Executive of the Audit Commission, said, “Timely and accurate accounts underpin effective service delivery, improvement, and accountability for public money. So it is disappointing that managers in both local government and the NHS are still not taking seriously enough the need for better financial reporting.”