Each year the London Borough of Lewisham accounts are audited and any person interested has the opportunity to inspect and make copies of the accounts and all relevant documents, as stipulated in Section 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
The draft accounts for 2019-20 will be available between 10am and 4pm weekdays from Monday 17 August 2020 to Monday 28 September 2020.
During this period, a local government elector for any area to which the accounts relate, or their representative, may question the auditor about the accounts, or make an objection to the accounts as set out in sections 26 and 27 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Any objection, and the grounds on which it is made, must be sent to the auditor in writing at the address below, with a copy to the London Borough of Lewisham at the address above. Any objection must state the grounds on which the objection is being made and particulars of:
i) any item of account which is alleged to be contrary to law;
and
ii) any matter in respect of which it is proposed that the auditor could make a public interest report under section 24 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 7 to, the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
The audit is being carried out by:
Paul Grady, Director, Grant Thornton UK LLP, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY.
Full details click here: Lewisham Accounts
For the year ended 31 March 2020 these documents will be available on application to:
Core Accounting Team, 5th Floor, Laurence House, Catford, London, SE6 4RU.
Email: coreaccountingteam@lewisham.gov.uk
Independent advice is found in the National Audit Office guide for local electors which is here
The NAO guide has further details on Objections:
Objecting to accounts
If after inspecting the accounts and asking questions you are concerned about
something in the accounts, you may wish to object to the accounts. Examples
of concerns that might be appropriate for an objection are where in your view,
there is an item in the accounts that is unlawful; there are issues relevant to
the authority’s arrangements for securing value for money or that are referred
to in an authority’s annual governance statement; or there are serious matters
of wider concern, for instance around corporate governance, arising from the
authority’s finances.