To approve the audited Report and Financial Statements for the financial year 2010/11.

1.  That the Report and Financial Statements for the financial year 2010/11, attached as Appendix A to the report of the Head of Finance and Customer Services, be approved subject to the following:-

a)  The first paragraph of page 2 of the Report being amended to delete reference to the Leader of the Council being the Chairman of the Cobtree Manor Estate Charity Committee; and

b)  Confirmation that no further amendments are necessary in respect of the profit sharing arrangement with Mytime.

2.  That the Officers be requested to submit a report to the next meeting of the Committee setting out a formal response to the five recommendations outlined in the Matters Arising Letter from the external auditors.

In July 2011 the Committee received the un-audited Report and Financial Statements for the financial year 2010/11.

The audited 2010/11 Report and Financial Statements from the external auditors are attached as Appendix A to the report of the Head of Finance and Customer Services together with the Matters Arising Letter and the Letter of Representation.

There is a new document to consider this year, this being a schedule of the adjustments to the un-audited accounts that were previously submitted for consideration.  This is a document that is now required under revised auditing standards, and must be signed by the Chairman.

The accounts must be approved and signed before they are submitted to the Charity Commission by 31 January 2012.

Accounts 2010/11

Following their examination of the Report and Financial Statements King & Taylor, the external auditors, recommended a number of changes and these have now been incorporated into the audited version.

There were two significant adjustments made in respect of the investment income from the Cobtree Trust Charity Ltd will trust endowment.  In May 2010 additional income of £19,576 was received in respect of the 2009/10 financial year, and this was subsequently included in the accounts for that year.  However this sum was erroneously included in the 2010/11 accounts as well, meaning that the income for the year was overstated.

The actual investment income received for 2010/11 was £42,188.  As the amount due had not been confirmed at the time the un-audited accounts were submitted an estimated figure of £60,000 was included in the accounts, based on the levels of income received in previous years.  The reason for the shortfall was the underperformance of the investment portfolio of the Cobtree Charity Trust Ltd will trust endowment.

There were also a small number of minor adjustments of a technical nature, resulting in total adjustments to the un-audited accounts of £37,523, as shown in the schedule of adjustments.

When the un-audited accounts were presented they showed that the loan to the Council had been fully paid off as at 31 March 2011.  However, the consequence of these adjustments is that there is now a sum of £17,912 due to the Council.  With the continuing healthy cash flow arising from the operations of the Charity the repayment of this sum will have no significant impact upon any operational activities or ongoing plans.

Although the audit has been completed, there is still one outstanding matter which needs to be resolved, this being confirmation from Mytime Active, the management team at the Golf Course, of income received during the 2010/11 financial year to establish whether the profit sharing threshold has been reached.  It may be necessary to re-submit the accounts for approval if the threshold is exceeded and the sum is material.  The Chairman of the Committee will be kept informed of the situation.  Based on the reduction in the number of rounds played from 2009/10 to 2010/11, it seems unlikely that there will be any change, but this needs to be confirmed and a meeting has been arranged to take place with the contractor within the next few days.

There are no alternative actions as it is a requirement that the accounts, the Letter of Representation and the Schedule of Adjustments be approved by the Council acting as Corporate Trustee of the Charity known as the Cobtree Manor Estate and signed by the Chairman prior to their submission to the Charity Commission.