Issue - meetings

This report presents the External Audit Plan for 2021/22. In accordance with audit regulations, these items must be presented to Committee.

The Committee received a report presenting the External Audit Plan for 2021/22. In accordance with audit regulations, these items must be presented to Committee.

The following matters were considered by the Committee:

a)            Pension fund figures from Surrey County Council Pension Fund: the external auditor explained that this is a risk assessment exercise, not dissimilar to a letter of representation.  The audit of the Surrey Pension Fund is worked at a much higher materiality value, than the EEBC audit, and  the external auditors are required by the regulator to examine pension fund figures. 

b)            Penultimate year of audit contract: even though this year is the penultimate year of the audit contract, it is Grant Thornton’s current intention to bid for future PSAA contracts

c)            IT strategy: it was confirmed that the audit work conducted by Grant Thornton, is a distinctly different set of work to the Council’s own IT Strategy setting process.  Grant Thornton audits the financial transactions relating to the IT system, and whether internal controls are sufficient to provide assurance that the Council’s accounts present a true and fair view for financial reporting purposes.

Following consideration, it was resolved to:

(1)      Receive the External Audit Plan for 2021/22; and

(2)      Approve the management responses to Grant Thornton’s enquiries, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report.