Agenda item

To consider the Auditor’s Report, Annual Governance Statement, the Letter of Representation and the Annual Financial Report.

Mr A Paylor and Mr M Hodgson of Ernst & Young, were in attendance for this item.

At 7:19pm, during discussion on this item, Councillor P Kadewere took his seat at the meeting.

With the aid of a report by the Chief Finance Officer (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Committee were informed of the progress for finalising and publishing the Council’s Annual Governance Statement (AGS) and Annual Finance Report (AFR) for 2020/21.

Having welcomed Mr A Paylor and Mr M Hodgson of Ernst & Young to the meeting, the Chairman placed on record his disappointment over the delays experienced with the external audit despite the assurances which had been delivered to the Committee at its January 2022 meeting that this work would be completed by 30th March 2022. 

Following a brief introduction by the Chief Finance Officer on the process required to complete and finalise the accounts and having been informed that a satisfactory conclusion with the external auditors had now been reached, Mr M Hodgson was then invited to present the final Audit Results Report which summarised the audit conclusions.

Mr M Hodgson began by acknowledging the delays which had been experienced explaining that this was attributable to factors beyond his control which contributed to the challenge he faced in diverting sufficient resources to complete the Council’s audit. Despite the delay however, he was pleased to report that a good audit had been completed. Whilst the report indicated that work to complete Significant Contract Testing was still outstanding, the Committee were informed that this was now complete with no issues arising. He then went on to explain in detail the audit differences which had been identified relating to uncorrected, corrected and disclosure differences. Members attention was then drawn to the Letter of Representation, an issue relating to Infrastructure Assets which had now been resolved, changes made to the Annual Governance Statement resulting in the removal of significant governance issues and an accounting issue relating to the return of third party related forms from Members. In his concluding remarks, Mr M Hodgson reported that the audit findings had not identified any risks of significant weaknesses in the Council’s arrangements for value for money which was pleasing to note. Finally, Mr M Hodgson extended his thanks and appreciation to the Finance Team for assisting with the audit.

Having been informed that the audit for next year had been scheduled on the same basis as the current year, the Committee expressed some disquiet over the potential impact this would have and made comment that resultant delays with completing the audit might be experienced again owing to the shortcomings of other authorities. In discussing the timing of the audit, the Senior Finance Business Partner & Deputy Section 151 Officer reported that the February timescale worked well for the Finance Team.

Other matters that were discussed included the length of time taken to complete the audit which originally was planned for completion within 6 weeks but took 14 weeks and the rationale used by the external auditors in scheduling local authority audits.

Having extended their thanks and appreciation to Officers and the Finance Team for their hard work in preparing the final accounts and in receiving assurances that an unqualified audit opinion would be formally delivered by the auditors the next morning, it was

RESOLVED

(a)  that the Auditor’s Results Report as attached as Annex A of the report now submitted be received and noted;

(b)  that the Annual Governance Statement as attached as Annex B of the report now submitted be approved and the Executive Leader and Managing Director be authorised to sign the Statement on behalf of the Council;

(c)  that the Letter of Representation as attached as Annex C of the report now submitted be approved and the Chief Finance Officer (as Section 151 Officer) be authorised to sign it on behalf of the Council; and

(d)  that, subject to the auditors confirming an unqualified opinion on the Annual Financial Report 2020/21, delegated powers be given to the Chairman of the Committee and Chief Finance Officer (as Section 151 Officer) to authorise and sign the Annual Financial Report, as attached as Annex D of the report now submitted, on behalf of the Council.