An independent review will be carried out into accounting errors made by Haringey Borough Council which cost the authority more than £30,000.

At a meeting of the council's corporate committee, new chief executive Nick Walkley announced there would be an inquiry into the errors, which were made by the council in its accounts from April 2011 to March 2012.

The Haringey Independent reported in October that the council’s auditor said it had done so much extra work it would have to charge the authority.

As a result of the errors, the auditor had initially refused to sign off the accounts until the last day before the deadline and it was estimated the extra costs could be as high as £45,000.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group Councillor Richard Wilson said: “The council must get to the bottom of this shambles. It is the only way that massive mistakes like this can be avoided in the future.

“I hope that the independent review will uncover how so many errors happened and how on earth they were not spotted until the very last minute.

“The people of Haringey deserve answers. They also need a council that is capable of managing its money properly.

“Haringey has one of the highest council taxes in London and some of the poorest services. Haringey Council has been failing local residents and must do better in the future.”

The cost of the extra work from the audit is now expected to cost the council £32,000.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “Haringey’s newly appointed chief executive asked for a review to be carried out on the closing of this year’s accounts to ensure any necessary improvements have been made.”

She added the review would be carried out by the end of January and results will be reported back to the corporate committee.