Under the 2016 Governance Framework, CIPFA recommends that all local government bodies develop a local code of governance. The local code should set out how the authority's governance arrangements work towards meeting the seven principles of good governance, as set out in the Framework.
Unfortunately, many authorities do not have a local code and instead rely on their annual governance statement to describe their governance arrangements. Some local codes that CIPFA has seen are not fit for purpose.
The following resource will help an authority take stock of its own use of a local code. If you are an internal auditor you should consider the quality of the local code when auditing governance.