Territorial Extent and Devolution Audit of accounts Section 16: Code of audit practice
52.This section enables the Auditor General to issue and revise from time to time a code of practice embodying the best professional practice with respect to standards, procedures and techniques to be adopted by auditors appointed by him when they are auditing the accounts of local government bodies in Wales. Any code prepared or revised under section 16 must be ratified by the Assembly in the first instance, and is subject to annulment by either House of the United Kingdom Parliament. The Assembly cannot delegate the function of ratifying the code. Until a code under this section comes into force, auditors appointed by the Auditor General must adhere to the extant Code of Audit Practice published by the Audit Commission in March 2002, and prepared in accordance with section 4 of the ACA. Section 17(4) imposes a duty on the auditors to this effect.