Statement of the Accounting Officer’s responsibilities

Under Section 2 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921, HM Treasury has directed the CPS to prepare for each financial year a Trust Statement in the form and on the basis set out in the Accounts Direction. The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Trust Statement 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 Trust Statement;
prepare the Trust Statement on a going concern basis; and
confirm that the Trust Statement as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and take personal responsibility for the Trust Statement and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable.

HM Treasury has appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions as Accounting Officer, and the Director of Public Prosecutions has appointed the Lead Director, Corporate Services 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.

As the Accounting Officer, I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the CPS’ auditors are aware of that information.

So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware.

Performance report and accountability report

The Department’s performance report covers both the department and the Trust Statement.

The Department’s accountability report covers both the Department and the Trust Statement.

Governance statement

The Department’s governance statement covers both the Department and the Trust Statement.

Stephen Parkinson
Director of Public Prosecutions
6 July 2026