AUDITORS have failed to sign off Bury Council's accounts on time.

Mazars blamed complex and technical issues relating to land value for the delay.

The audited accounts, which were supposed to be published yesterday, will not be complete until after the summer recess.

Director Karen Murray raised concerns about the way council assets had been revalued, resulting in a £10.8m surplus.

She said: “It’s fair to say that they are not things that are easily sorted. It’s a very complex area. But there’s nothing that makes me think the team has done anything deliberately wrong. There’s nothing to suggest that management has deliberately inflated the value.”

Chief financial officer Mike Woodhead said that around a hundred other local authorities across the country are expected to be in the same position.

Mazars, who are auditing the council's accounts for the first time, said that Bury is not the only council in Greater Manchester to miss the deadline.

Audit committee chairman Mary Whitby suggested that bringing a new external auditor in means the accounts have been looked at differently which may have contributed to the delay.

But deputy Conservative leader Nick Jones disagreed. He said: “It’s most concerning that we are going to publish a set of accounts that’s not fit for purpose. It’s not a case of teething problems. Personally, I think there’s bigger issues.”

Previously, councils were required to publish their audited accounts by September, but this deadline has now moved to the end of July.

Bury Council has met its obligations by publishing the most up to date information on its website.