A new type of oversight body for local audit that would take a strategic approach to addressing the sector's sustainability challenges is needed, a top auditor has suggested.

Writing for The MJ this week, head of local government at auditor Grant Thornton UK, Paul Dossett, said such a body would have ‘ultimate responsibility for ensuring the sustainability of the local audit regime and that its component parts - including the audit code, regulation, market management and fees - interact in an optimal way'.