Issue - meetings

The attached report sets out the findings of the Council’s external auditor following their audit of the Council’s Statement of Accounts 2019/2020. The key points to note are:

·       Grant Thornton anticipate providing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements for the Council; and that

Grant Thornton have concluded that the Council has proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources and anticipate issuing an unqualified value for money conclusion.

The Head of Audit and Management Assurance presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'D' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report of the Council’s external auditor, Grant Thornton, on their audit of the Council’s Statement of Accounts 2019/2020 was circulated with the report. Representatives from Grant Thornton were present and responded to questions from members.

It was explained that, at this stage, due to the very challenging environment for audit during the Coronavirus pandemic, and in in line with other local authority audits nationally, the report was only in an interim format although substantial progress had been made. In respect of the BCP Council audit, Grant Thornton reported further complexities arising from the formation of the new Council although they reported satisfaction with the way in which the transformation process was addressing the complex financial situation.

The key points to note within the report, however, were that Grant Thornton anticipated providing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements for the Council and that they had concluded that the Council had proper arrangements in place to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources. An unqualified value for money conclusion was also anticipated

RESOLVED that the Audit & Governance Committee notes the anticipated audit opinion and the provisional findings of the Council’s external auditor following their audit of the Council’s statement of accounts 2019/20.

Voting: Unanimous