Issue - meetings

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Finance and Resources setting out details of the External Auditor’s Audit Plan for 2014/15 and of the anticipated audit fee.  It was noted that the plan was risk based and had been developed following consideration of the challenges and opportunities facing the Council, the risks identified and the results of the audit work undertaken to date.  The anticipated audit fee was £81,210 which covered the audit of the financial statements and the grant certification work.

In response to questions, Mr Wells of Grant Thornton (the External Auditor) explained that:

·  In terms of partnership arrangements, the External Auditor was required to provide an audit opinion and value for money conclusion for each partner authority.  However, where there were truly common systems that were operating as intended, there was scope for efficiencies by testing the controls once and the details relevant to each authority separately, and this could result in lower audit fees.

·  Audit fees had reduced quite dramatically in recent years, but going forward there would be more of an open market.

·  In line with the new International Accounting Standards, partnership arrangements would be accounted for as a joint arrangement and it would be necessary to check that the authority’s assets, liabilities and transactions had been accounted for correctly.

·  The effects of the introduction of Universal Credit had not been taken into account in this Audit Plan which reviewed expenditure incurred and income received over the past year.  Once the phased roll out for Universal Credit and the transactions which would go through the local authority accounts were understood, the implications would be followed through in subsequent Audit Plans.

·  To date the External Auditor had undertaken detailed testing on journal transactions recorded for the first ten months of the financial year.  No issues had been identified that the External Auditor wished to bring to the Committee’s attention.

RESOLVED:  That the content of the External Auditor’s Audit Plan for 2014/15, attached as Appendix A to the report of the Head of Finance and Resources, be noted.