The Society of London Treasurers told us there also needed to be consequences for late sign-off of accounts, suggesting auditors should report on the causes of delay to audit committees. The Society also queried whether better contract management might help the delivery of audits, suggesting a simpler procurement process might better enable management of auditors locally rather than by PSAA.37 We asked PSAA about the contractual obligations of audit providers and they confirmed that its audit contracts cannot specify that auditors issue their opinions by a certain date. PSAA emphasised that this was deliberate to preserve auditor independence, though accepted this causes a challenge for the system.38