Agenda item

Jaclyn Gibson, Chief Finance Officer:

a)    presented the Statement of Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2023.

b)    reported that the Statement of Accounts for 2022/23 provided a comprehensive picture of the Council’s financial circumstances and were compiled to demonstrate probity and stewardship of public funds.

c)    reported that the Council was statutorily required to publish its Statement of Accounts for 2022/23 with an audit opinion and certificate by no later than 30 September 2023.

d)    noted that the Statement of Accounts for 2022/23 were still subject to final verification by external audit . The audit of accounts was being finalised by Mazars, who had commenced the audit in July. Should any material changes be necessary as a result of this final external audit work, these would be reported back to a meeting of this committee by the Chief Finance Officer.

e)    reported that the Council must make the Statement of Accounts available for public inspection for 10 working days. Following notification from the Council’s external auditors, this ran from 1 June 2023 until 15 June 2023 and the external auditor was available to answer questions during this period. It was reported that no questions had been asked.

f)     advised that during the completion of the external audit no misstatements above the trivial threshold were identified.

g)    reported that the Council was required to provide a documented annual review of the effectiveness of its governance arrangements which sat alongside the Statement of Accounts, known as the Annual Governance Statement. The overall level of assurance provided in 2022/23 was substantial and was in line with the Council’s Code of Corporate Governance.

h)    explained that substantial progress has been made on against the significant issue in relation to the IT Disaster Recovery plan,  which was included in last year’s Annual Governance Statement (AGS), to the extent that there was no longer a significant governance issue. There were no new significant governance issues that were identified for inclusion in  2022/23.

i)     presented the following aspects of the Statement of Accounts:

·         the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement;

·         the Balance Sheet;

·         general balances;

·         earmarked reserves;

·         liquidity;

·         debtors;

·         creditors;

·         non-current assets;

·         pensions;

·         officer remuneration;

·         borrowing;

·         investments.

j)     invited members’ questions and comments.

Question: Referred to the Chief Executives Salary and asked why  had there been a reduction in pay for 2022/23 compared to 2021/22?

Response: There had not been a reduction in pay. The difference was due to the Chief Executive receiving election expenses as the Returning Officer for the Council. There were more elections held in 2021/22 which accounted for the difference in pay. The salary reported also included pension contributions.

Question: Referred  to the Yarborough ceiling refurbishment and asked if the payment was for the cost of the works or did it also include the compensation paid to Active Nation?

Response: This payment was for the cost of the works only and did not include compensation payments.

Question: How much compensation had been paid to Active Nation?
Response: The compensation payments ended when the pool reopened. The figure would be circulated following the meeting.

RESOLVED that:

1.    the final Statement of Accounts 2022/23 be noted, noting that the external audit was substantially complete.

2.    the final Statement of Accounts 2022/23 be recommended to Executive and subsequent referral to Council for approval.

3.    any further changes to the Statement of Accounts, arising from the conclusion of the external audit be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer who would report any changes to the Chair of Audit Committee.