Issue - meetings

Grant Thornton, as the Council’s appointed External Auditors, has produced a report (Appendix A) which provides an update to the Audit & Governance Committee on their progress to date in delivering their responsibilities and provides an update on the following key areas of work:

·       Presented the audit plan for 2025/26 to the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee on 19 March 2026.

·       The expectation was that all Local Authorities would publish their unaudited accounts for 2025/26 by 30 June 2026. The Council achieved this ahead of schedule, publishing its accounts on 12 June 2026 and commencing the public inspection period on the 15 June 2026. This represents a significant achievement and demonstrates the Council's commitment to improving the timeliness of its financial reporting.

·       Audit fieldwork commenced the same week, and sample selection is already underway. To maintain this positive progress and ensure delivery of the audit by the November deadline, it is important that audit queries receive timely responses and that supporting working papers are of a high quality.

·       The audit assesses whether the Council has proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness, as required by the 2020 Code of Audit Practice.

·       Work is structured around three areas: financial sustainability, governance, and improving value for money.

·       Findings will be reported to the Audit & Governance Committee in the interim Auditor’s Annual Report in November.

·       Rebuilding assurance across local government accounts remains an ongoing sector-wide challenge.

·       The next statutory backstop dates are 31 January 2027 for 2025/26 accounts and 30 November 2027 for 2026/27 accounts.

·       The Council and Grant Thornton have agreed to complete the 2025/26 audit by November 2026 to support timely delivery of the 2026/27 audit.

·       Local audit recovery – Rebuilding assurance remains the priority, with MHCLG requesting assurance capacity assessments by 31 July 2026.

·       Previous audits – Audit opinions for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 were disclaimed due to the backstop arrangements.

·       Grant Thornton's Regaining Assurance Strategy (see Appendix B) sets out a phased approach to rebuilding assurance.

The report also includes a summary of emerging national issues and developments that may be relevant to the Council.