Angus Council is to take a long, hard look at itself.
Councillors approved a review process that will allow them and senior officers to suggest topics they feel would benefit from close scrutiny.
The list will then be whittled down to three or four issues per year to be studied in detail by panels that could include external experts.
Chief executive Richard Stiff said the new system would give “teeth” to the scrutiny and audit committee, which will have the power to demand that any policies and practices they have concerns about are reconsidered.
Committee convener Bob Spink said: “It’s not all about fault finding, we will find areas of good practice.
“The review panels will have considerable powers. This is definitely something that will have a positive effect on Angus Council.”
In addition to its internal reviews the council is obliged to explain its operations to Audit Scotland, which is responsible for the financial oversight of many public bodies.
The committee heard that the fee Audit Scotland will charge for examining what went on during the 2012-13 financial year will be £248,000 a cut of more than 5% compared to last time.
Among the key topics to be studied are the impact of administrative restructuring and the efforts to focus spending on council priorities in response to the squeeze on local government finances.
The council is adopting an Audit Scotland proposal for local authorities to use information on costs more effectively.
A joint report by Mr Stiff and head of finance Ian Lorimer said: “The current financial climate makes it more essential than ever that we understand our costs and what drives them and how output and quality fit into this equation.”
To aid this process councillors will get training in determining value for money and how to analyse performance.