The Crown Prosecution Service
Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026

Statement of the Accounting Officer’s responsibilities

Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, HM Treasury has directed the CPS to prepare, for each financial year, accounts detailing the resources acquired, held or disposed of during the year and the use of resources by the department during the year. The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the CPS and of its income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position and cash flows for the financial year.

In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:

• observe the Accounts Direction issued by HM Treasury, including the relevant accounting and disclosure requirements,
• and apply suitable accounting policies on a consistent basis;
• make judgements and estimates on a reasonable basis;
• state whether applicable accounting standards as set out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual have been followed, and disclose and explain any material departures in the accounts;
• prepare the accounts on a going concern basis.

HM Treasury has appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions as Accounting Officer of the department, and the Director of Public Prosecutions has appointed the Chief Operating Officer as an Additional Accounting Officer. This appointment does not detract from the Director of Public Prosecutions’ overall responsibility as Accounting Officer for the department’s accounts.

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding the Crown Prosecution Service’s assets, are set out in Managing Public Money published by the HM Treasury.

The Accounting Officer confirms that he has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the CPS’ auditors are aware of that information. So far as he is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware.

The Accounting Officer confirms that the Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and he takes personal responsibility for the Annual Report and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable.