Agenda item
Statement of Accounts
To receive and note the auditors findings and delegate signing of the Council’s Annual Statement of Accounts.
Minutes:
David Ewart (as Chair) open consideration of this item by advising the Committee that the report provided by the Corporate Director Finance & Resources detailed progress, since previous consideration of the draft Statement of Accounts at the Committee’s previous meeting on 1 August 2022, in approving the Council’s Statement of Accounts for 2020/21 and providing a draft Letter of Representation for consideration in advance of final sign off and Grant Thornton being able to issue a final audit opinion.
In considering the report the Committee noted its role in considering any issues raised by the External Auditors as part of the process for approving the Council’s annual statement of accounts, with the basis for this being the “report to those charged with governance” also referred to as the ISA260 report. The Council’s external auditors, Grant Thornton, produced the report following completion of the audit of accounts with the report intended to identify any changes to the accounts, unadjusted misstatements or material weaknesses in controls identified during the audit work. It also provided the findings from the value for money conclusion for the year.
Ciaran McLaughlin, Grant Thornton External Audit, was then welcomed to the meeting and invited to provide the Committee with an update on the progress in completing the audit of the 2021-22 accounts and their ISA260 report. Whilst Brent’s 2021-22 Statement of Accounts had been finalised and signed off, members were advised that the audit process had been delayed as a result of a national issue previously reported relating to the accounting requirements for the calculation of asset values of highways infrastructure. As this was still to be resolved and would potentially require legislative action by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, there had been a need to pause the completion of the audit process pending this being addressed.
In terms of current progress, Members noted that the audit work had commenced and was substantially complete with the anticipated result being an unqualified audit opinion being issued, however it would not be possible to confirm this until any change in relation to the accounting requirements around the treatment of Highway Infrastructure assets had been resolved. As a result, this was also expected to impact on the ability to meet the deadline for publication of the final accounts by 30 November 2022 with the necessary revisions to the CIPFA accounting Code of Practice not anticipated to be until late November 2022.
The Chair thanked Ciaran McLaughlin for the update and advised that as a result of the delays outlined there would be a need to recommend to the Audit & Standards Committee that they consider authorising the Chair of that Committee to sign off the required letter of Representation and Statement of accounts, subject to a written assurance being provided that all outstanding matters and adjustments contained in the audit findings report have been made and that if there are any material adjustments required following the resolution of the infrastructure assets issue, these should be brought back to the next committee for sign off and also sent to the Chair of the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee and the Independent Advisor to the Committee.
With no further issue raised the Committee took the opportunity to thank all officers involved in the preparation of the accounts and it was RESOLVED:
(1) To note the reasons for the current pause and delay in the final audit being completed whilst the infrastructure issue was being addressed by CIPFA and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
(2) To note the proposed recommendation to be made to the Audit & Standard Committee in relation to the process for final approval of the Letter of Representation to Grant Thornton and sign off of the Statement of Accounts.
Supporting documents: