Committee publication · Correspondence · 22 April 2025

Letter from the Chief Operating Officer for the Department for Business and Trade relating to the Department's 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts, 27 March 2025

Inquiry: The work of the Department for Business and Trade

Summary

The Chief Operating Officer of the Department for Business and Trade updates the Business and Trade Committee on progress toward the 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts (ARA). Following a February meeting, DBT has implemented process improvements from lessons learned in 2023-24, including enhanced finance capability, better coordination with the National Audit Office, and technology-enabled consolidation. The department aims for pre-summer recess laying, though risks remain around Post Office Limited provisions and British Business Bank financial guarantees audit timelines.

Key findings

DBT has conducted a five-month comprehensive review of 2023-24 ARA processes to expedite 2024-25 delivery, addressing institutional knowledge gaps, recruitment, and opening balance assurance.
Proactive improvements include: detailed ARA timetable with clear accountabilities, rationalized NAO audit evidence structure, updated Partner Organisation policies, and tech-enabled systems-based consolidation using AI tools.
Pre-summer recess laying is the stated target, though NAO feedback indicates this may be 'still ambitious'.
Post Office Limited Horizon scheme provisions present a potential scope-limiting risk for the Comptroller & Auditor General audit opinion, though DBT views this as manageable following 2023-24 experience.
British Business Bank financial guarantees audit is flagged as a 'significant timetable risk' because NAO has not yet moved to 'code based' audit methodology, with extremely tight pre-recess timescales despite joint DBT–BBB–NAO mitigation efforts.

Tone

Procedural

Topics

public-financegovernment-accountsaudit

Key actors

Tara Smith, Liam Byrne MP, Department for Business and Trade, National Audit Office, Post Office Limited, British Business Bank, Comptroller & Auditor General

Notable line

“Initial feedback from the NAO suggests that pre-recess laying may still be ambitious.”

Key Quotes

“The audit of the financial guarantees is, however, a significant timetable risk as the NAO is yet to move to a 'code based' audit which would take considerably less time to audit.”
— Tara Smith · describing challenges to achieving pre-recess accounts laying

“These changes have been welcomed by the National Audit Office (NAO) and will result in a more efficient and quicker accounts production and audit timeframe.”
— Tara Smith · summarizing 2023-24 lessons learned and proactive improvements

“DBT does not believe that the provisions are a significant timetable risk.”
— Tara Smith · assessing Post Office Limited Horizon scheme provisions despite anticipated scope-limiting by the Comptroller & Auditor General

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗