The Selwyn District Council’s audit fees will increase by $36,000 this year to $212,000.
The district council is statutorily required to be audited.
The audits are done to ensure ratepayers’ money is being kept safe and being used appropriately and also covers things like Long Term Plan targets to ensure they are being met.
The fees were set to increase by $71,000, but to manage the cost transition the district council received a $35,000 discount this year which will reduce over time.
“The Office of the Auditor-General has held fees flat for a number of years and what we are seeing now is that the government is effectively propping up the Office of the Auditor-General to cover the cost and it’s got to a point in time where they can no longer keep doing this and need to reflect what the true cost of audits are,” district council enabling services group manager Kelvin Mason said.
The audit takes about six weeks, with anywhere from five to 10 auditors based at the district council.
