Agenda item

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 anticipate issuing a qualified “except for” value for money conclusion due to the findings of the Ofsted targeted review of children’s services.

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

The report set out the findings of the Council’s external auditor, Grant Thornton, following their audit of the council’s statement of accounts 2019/2020. The key points to note from their report were that Grant Thornton anticipated providing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements for the Council and that they anticipated issuing a qualified “except for” value for money conclusion due to the findings of the Ofsted targeted review of children’s services.

In commenting on their report Grant Thornton provided the context of national delay in signing off accounts which they explained was largely as a result of the challenges presented by COVID-19 and remote working although, in the case of BCP Council, the establishment of the partnership and the necessary production of a new single set of accounts added a further dimension. The external auditors outlined the specific areas on which they were still working but acknowledged that the set of controls set out by the BCP Council Finance Team were very good and that no material adjustments were anticipated.

In response to questions from the Committee on the subject of the value for money judgement the Chief Executive and the Chief Finance Officer both confirmed that they were fully aware of the results and findings of the Children’s Services Ofsted report and that there was full commitment to the Action Planning and Improvement Board processes that had been put in place to ensure that the significant improvements required were achieved.

There was also reference to the increasing audit fee set out within the Grant Thornton report and the Committee was informed that this subject would be addressed within the Quarter 3 budget monitoring report.

Included as an appendix to the report was a draft of the formal ‘Statement of Responsibilities’ and the ‘Letter of Representation’ and the Assistant Chief Finance Officer set out for the Committee the significance and effect of agreeing to signing the documents subject to completion of the audit and subject to there being no material alterations to the accounts that had been presented in draft to the Committee.

RESOLVED that Audit and Governance Committee

(a)  Notes the anticipated audit opinions and findings of the council’s external auditor included as Appendix A of the report to the Audit and Governance Committee following the audit of the council’s statement of accounts 2019/20;

(b)  Approves the Letter of Representation included as Appendix B of the report to the Audit and Governance Committee;

(c)  Approves the treatment of the unadjusted misstatement referred to in Appendix C of the report to the Audit and Governance Committee;

(d)  Approves the signing of the Statement of Responsibilities included as Appendix D of the report to the Audit and Governance Committee, and the Letter of Representation by the Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee and the S151 Officer once the audit work is complete at the end of January.

Voting: Unanimous