Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES

To approve the audited Statement of Accounts for 2021/22. The Statement of Accounts has been subject to external audit and a draft is enclosed with the report as Appendix A.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

(1)   Noted the 2021/22 Annual Statement of Accounts as set out in Appendix A.

(2)   Noted the audit work completed to date, the findings from that work and the resultant changes made to the Statement of Accounts.

(3)   Approved the 2021/22 Annual Statement of Accounts, and that the Chair of the Committee signed the Statement of Accounts to confirm that they have been approved by the Committee.

REASON FOR DECISIONs: To ensure that the Council abides by the Audit and Account Regulations 2015, which require the approval and publication of audited Statement of Accounts.

Audio recording – 14 minute 45 seconds

The Service Director – Resources presented the report entitled ‘Statement of Accounts 2021-22’ and highlighted that:

·       A series of adjustments were made to the draft version of the account, these were highlighted in paragraph 8.2.

·       Recommendations in relation to the financial controls of the Council were highlighted in Paragraph 8.3.

·       Ernst & Young were currently finalising the last steps of the audit these included a signed letter of representation from the Service Director – Resources and the Chair of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee.

·       The report highlighted at paragraph 8.5 that Officers were not aware of any other events excluding the triennial pension review, that would affect the Statement of Accounts.

·       The Annual Governance Statement stated in Paragraph 8.6 was approved in March 2023.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Sean Nolan

·       Councillor Tamsin Thomas

In response to questions the Service Director – Resources stated that:

·       The draft accounts for year 2022-23 had completed a public inspection, and were ready for auditing, however resourcing issues at Ernst & Young meant no date for the audit to commence had been set.

·       The auditors for the year 2023-24 would be KPMG under an arrangement through the Public Sector Audit Appointments.

·       About 10% of business rates collected were retained by North Herts District Council, although an additional small percentage was returned as grants, this was shown on page 87 of the report.

·       The Corporate Risks were detailed on page 94 of the report.

·       Anti-social behaviour had been listed as a corporate risk but was now downgraded to a services risk.

·       Anti-social behaviour was especially prevalent in car parks, and this had resulted in some car parks being closed early and requiring more intensive cleaning.

·       Museum assets would be recorded as having no significant monetary value in future versions of the report.

Councillor Mandi Tandi proposed, and Councillor Tamsin Thomas seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

(1)   Noted the 2021/22 Annual Statement of Accounts as set out in Appendix A.

(2)   Noted the audit work completed to date, the findings from that work and the resultant changes made to the Statement of Accounts.

(3)   Approved the 2021/22 Annual Statement of Accounts, and that the Chair of the Committee signed the Statement of Accounts to confirm that they have been approved by the Committee.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To ensure that the Council abides by the Audit and Account Regulations 2015, which require the approval and publication of audited Statement of Accounts.