Issue - meetings

External Audit Update July 2016

Meeting: 11/07/2016 - Audit, Governance and Standards Committee (Item 15)

15 External Audit Update July 2016 pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the External Auditor on the progress to date against the 2015/16 Audit Plan.  The report also included a summary of emerging national issues and developments of relevance to the local government sector.

 

Mr Wells of Grant Thornton (External Auditor) advised the Committee that the audit was now in its second week, and nothing had arisen so far that he needed to draw to the attention of Members.  In terms of the Value for Money conclusion, the scope of the work had changed and there was now one single criterion for auditors to evaluate which was “In all significant respects, the audited body had proper arrangements to ensure it took properly informed decisions and deployed resources to achieve planned and sustainable outcomes for taxpayers and local people”.  The report set out details of the work the External Auditor intended to undertake to address this.

 

In response to a question regarding the significant risk associated with the Council’s financial position going forward and the possibility of increasing income to offset diminishing grant funding from Central Government, Mr Wells explained that the External Auditor planned to look at the arrangements the Council had made to ensure that its future was financially sustainable.  The External Auditor was aware of the Council’s commercialisation agenda and might well look at aspects of that (looking more broadly at expenditure, including the assumptions arrived at and predicted expenditure profiles over the next few years, and income projections as well).

 

RESOLVED:  That the External Auditor’s update report, attached as Appendix I to the report of the Director of Finance and Business Improvement, be noted.