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The basic position -If you are entitled to vote in local council elections, by law you have the right to inspect your council's accounts and ask questions about, or challenge, them.
The right to inspect the accounts -When your council has finalised its accounts for the previous financial year, usually in the late summer, it must advertise that they are available for people to look at. You then have 15 working days to look through the accounts and supporting documents.
You can get copies of the accounts and most of the relevant documents from your council. You will probably have to pay a copying charge.
The right to ask the auditor questions about the accounts- You can only ask the auditor questions about the accounts. The auditor does not have to answer questions about the council's policies, finances, procedures or anything else. Your question must be about the accounts that they are auditing. The auditor does not have to say whether they think something the council has done, or an item in its accounts, is lawful or reasonable.
The right to object to the accounts - If you think that the council has spent money that they shouldn't have done, or that someone has caused a loss to the authority deliberately or by behaving irresponsibly, you can object to the auditor by sending them a formal 'notice of objection', which must be in writing. You must tell the auditor why you are objecting. The auditor must reach a decision on your objection. If you are not happy with that decision, you can appeal to the courts.
You may also object if you think that there is something in the accounts that the auditor should discuss with the council or tell the public about in a 'public interest report'. Again, you must give your reasons. In this case, the auditor must decide whether to take any action. The auditor will normally, but does not have to, give reasons for their decision and you cannot appeal to the courts. You may not, however, use this 'right to object' to make a personal complaint or claim against your council. You should take these complaints to your local Citizens' Advice Bureau, local Law Centre or your solicitor.
What else you can do - Instead of objecting, you can give the auditor information that is relevant to their responsibilities. For example, you can simply tell the auditor if you think that something is wrong with the accounts or about waste and inefficiency in the way the council runs its services. You do not have to follow any set time limits or procedures. This is also the situation for NHS organisations where you do not have the right to ask the auditor questions about, or object to, the accounts. The auditor does not have to give you a detailed report of their investigation into the issues you have raised, but they will usually tell you the general outcome.

A final word - Councils, and so local taxpayers, must meet the costs of dealing with questions and objections. When the auditor decides whether to take your objection further, they must take into account the costs that will be involved. They will only continue with the objection if it is in the public interest to do so. If you appeal to the courts, you might have to pay for the action yourself.

The Audit Commision have produced a booklet about Electors Rights.
Councils Accounts - Your Rights England ...