Corporate Governance, Audit and Standards Committee - Monday, 29th June, 2015 7.00 pm - Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Offices, Farnborough

Contact: Committee Administrator, Kathy Flatt  Tel. (01252 398829) or email  kathy.flatt@rushmoor.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

7.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 75 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 28th May, 2015 (copy attached).

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 28th May, 2015 were approved and signed by the Chairman.

8.

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2014/15 – DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES pdf icon PDF 32 KB

To consider the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1514 (copy attached) which sets out for discussion the duties and responsibilities of the Committee in respect of the Statement of Accounts. The discussion will include a short review of the Council’s unaudited Statement of Accounts (to follow) to allow sufficient time for their due consideration ahead of the approval meeting in September.

Minutes:

 

The Committee considered the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1514, which set out the duties and responsibilities of the Committee in respect of the Statement of Accounts.

 

The Committee was reminded that the Statement of Accounts for 2014/15 had been prepared in line with CIPFA’s ‘Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting’ for 2014/15, under International Financial Reporting Standards and in accordance with the Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations, 2011. These Regulations required a committee of the Council to consider the Statement after completion of the audit of the accounts and presentation of the auditor’s Audit Results Report. CIPFA also recommended that the Statements should be issued in advance of the approval meeting in order to allow sufficient time for due consideration of the information.

 

The Committee reviewed the Council’s unaudited Statement of Accounts, copies of which were circulated at the meeting, to give Members sufficient time for their due consideration ahead of the approval meeting in September, 2015.

 

The Statement of Accounts 2014/15 consisted of:

 

       An introduction and summary of significant financial issues during the year (explanatory foreword)

       Statement of responsibilities

       Four key financial statements – Movement in Reserves, Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

       Notes to the core financial statements – including accounting policies

       Collection Fund and accompanying notes

       Auditors’ Results Report.

 

The Head of Financial Services gave a summary of the documents that had been considered by the Committee over recent months in respect of the Council’s Statement of Accounts. On the decluttering of the Statement of Accounts, the Committee agreed the reasoning behind the items that had been removed from the Statement.

 

The Report reminded Members of the various factors which should be borne in mind when considering the accounts. Once these factors had been considered, Members should be satisfied that the accounts represented a true and fair view of the Council’s financial position. The Committee was advised of other sources of information and assurance which could be used to help Members approve the accounts. These included:

          The Council’s 8-Point Plan

          Internal audit

          The work of the Standards and Audit Committee in considering fraud, risk and internal audit reporting

          Statements of senior officers

          External audit opinion

          Other inspections – HMRC (VAT, PAYE)

          Financial and performance reports

          Members’ own knowledge of the affairs of the Council

          The context (eg economic climate, interest rates, property prices, inflation)

          Expert knowledge (eg actuarial reports)

 

The Head of Financial Services guided the Committee through the draft Statement of Accounts and answered Members’ questions. Members asked questions concerning business rates, remuneration and expenses allowances, retirement and replacement dates, the process for decluttering the accounts, access to the audited accounts by members of the public, the work of Internal Audit and the revised Contract Standing Orders. Members felt that the session had been a useful exercise in preparing for the approval of the Statement of Accounts in September. Members were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.