Issue - meetings

This report presents the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts and Grant Thornton’s Audit Findings report following the external audit.

Following consideration, it was resolved that the Committee:

(1)      Approved the Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2020;

(2)      Agreed the Annual Governance Statement included within the Statement of Accounts;

(3)      Received the Audit Findings for 2019/20;

(4)      Agreed the management action in response to the audit recommendations detailed at Appendix A of the Audit Findings report;

(5)      Agreed that the Chairman or Vice Chairman of Strategy and Resources Committee and the Chief Finance Officer sign the Letter of Representation on behalf of the Council;

(6)      Delegated any further amendments to the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Chairman or Vice Chairman of Strategy and Resources Committee.

The Committee received a report presenting the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts and Grant Thornton’s Audit Findings report following the external audit.

The Committee received a verbal introduction to the report from Sheena Phillips and Sarah Ironmonger on behalf of Grant Thornton (the External Auditor).

The following matters were considered:

a)            Emphasis of matter. The External Auditor informed the Committee that the audit report would include an emphasis of matter to highlight a disclosure from the Council’s expert valuer relating to a material uncertainty in the valuation of land and buildings at 21 March as a result of Covid-19. The External Auditor informed the Committee that this was an approach being commonly applied to Councils by external auditors.

b)            Post balance sheet event provision for Covid-19. Following a question from a Member, the External Auditior informed the Committee that the Covid-19 pandemic had begun prior to the end of the financial year and that there were disclosures relating to its impact within the financial statements. As such it was not considered to be an “adjusting subsequent event”. The External Auditor was comfortable that the matter had been disclosed within the financial statements in the appropriate manner.

c)            Deadline for publishing audited accounts. Following a question from the Chairman with regard to progress toward the publication of the Council’s audited Accounts, the External Auditor informed the Committee that the Council was very much in front group of Councils in Surrey and nationally.

Following consideration, it was resolved unanimously that the Committee:

(1)      Approved the Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2020;

(2)      Agreed the Annual Governance Statement included within the Statement of Accounts;

(3)      Received the Audit Findings for 2019/20;

(4)      Agreed the management action in response to the audit recommendations detailed at Appendix A of the Audit Findings report;

(5)      Agreed that the Chairman or Vice Chairman of Strategy and Resources Committee and the Chief Finance Officer sign the Letter of Representation on behalf of the Council;

(6)      Delegated any further amendments to the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Chairman or Vice Chairman of Strategy and Resources Committee.

Following the Committee’s decision on this item the Committee requested that its thanks to the Council’s Finance Team be recorded in the Minutes. The Committee congratulated officers on the excellent outcome of the audit and the speed with which they had completed the work, which would likely lead to the accounts being signed-off as one of the very first in England.