Auditors have warned against complacency after ‘disappointing' results showed an increasing number of councils missed the deadline ahead of a tougher timetable next year.

A report by Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) said the proportion of principal local government bodies where the auditor was unable to issue an opinion by the current statutory accounts publication date of 30 September doubled from 4% in 2015/16 to 8% in 2016/17.