MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

AUDIT COMMITTEE  

15^TH JULY 2013

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF FINANCE & RESOURCES  

1              EXTERNAL AUDITOR’S AUDIT PLAN 2012/13                                                                                               

1.1        Issue for Decision                                                                                                          

1.1.1   To consider the External Auditor’s Audit Plan for 2012/13 as attached at Appendix A to this report.                                                                              

1.2        Recommendation of the Head of Finance & Resources                                                    

1.2.1   That Audit Committee note the content of the Audit Plan as attached at Appendix A.                                                                                         

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation                                                                     

1.3.1   The External Auditor produces an annual audit plan for the audit of the financial statements and the work on reaching a Value for Money conclusion on this Council. For 2012/13 the audit will be undertaken by Grant Thornton, who successfully tendered for the provision of external audit services following the abolition of the Audit Commission.                                                                                                                          

1.3.2   The plan is risk based and developed following consideration of both local and national risks and the audit work completed to date.                                                                                                        

1.3.3   The report identifies the significant risks that will be considered as part of the audit, along with a number of other risks.                                                             

1.3.4   The plan also outlines the results of the interim audit work that was carried out earlier in the year, and details the anticipated audit fee.                                                                         

1.4        Alternative Actions and Why Not Recommended                                          

1.4.1    The report covers the information provided by the External Auditor on his plans for the completion of part of his audit for 2012/13. It is appropriate that this committee receive this information at this time.                                                                                                                             

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives                                                                    

1.5.1    The completion of the audit of the Statement of Accounts by the due date aids the Council’s consideration of its achievement of corporate and customer excellence.                                                                     

1.6        Risk Management                                                                                                                     

1.6.1    This plan helps mitigate the risk of failure to meet the statutory deadlines for the annual Statement of Accounts and Value for Money opinion.                                                                                                                                   

1.7        Other Implications                                                                                                                                                                                       

1.7.1    The anticipated audit fee for 2012/13 is £84,000, covering the audit of the Statement of Accounts and Grant Certification work.

1.8                  Relevant Documents                                                                                                                          

1.8.1    Appendices: Appendix A – External Auditor’s Audit Plan 2012/13