Agenda item

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2016/17 be recommended to County Council;

(b)       That the Wales Audit Office reports on the Audit of the Financial Statements for Flintshire County Council and Clwyd Pension Fund be received; and

(c)       That the Letters of Representation for Flintshire County Council and the Clwyd Pension Fund be recommended to County Council.

The Corporate Finance Manager presented the final audited version of the Statement of Accounts 2016/17 with the Wales Audit Office (WAO) reports in connection with the audit of the financial statements and Letters of Representation for Flintshire County Council and the Clwyd Pension Fund.  He thanked Council officers and WAO colleagues for their work on the audited accounts on which approval was sought for recommendation to County Council on the same day to meet the statutory publishing deadline.  Responses to questions raised on the draft accounts had been circulated to all Members who had been given opportunities to discuss further queries with officers.

A presentation was made covering the following areas:

·         Progress Update since July

·         Accounts Governance Group

·         The Council’s Accounts

o   Progress in addressing prior year issues

o   Unadjusted misstatement

o   Adjustments to draft Statement of Accounts

·         Clwyd Pension Fund Accounts

o   Progress in addressing prior year issues

o   Adjustments to draft Statement of Accounts

o   Feedback from Clwyd Pension fund Committee

The Finance Manager - Technical Accountancy noted recognition by WAO of good progress on actions taken to address issues raised during the audit of the 2015/16 accounts.  Some errors were inevitable due to the scale and complexity of local government accounts and decisions on whether to amend these in the accounts were based on a combination of materiality, the view of the auditor and the complexity and value of amending.  The Finance Manager gave an overview of the schedule of amendments and advised that the WAO had supported the view of the Accounts Governance Group that one misstatement should remain uncorrected in the accounts.

On the Clwyd Pension Fund accounts, the Pensions Finance Manager summarised the amendments which were all below materiality and advised that there were no uncorrected misstatements.  She confirmed that the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee had received a detailed presentation by officers and that WAO had raised no issues on the audited accounts.

Mr. John Herniman of WAO said that overall, this was another positive year for the Council’s accounts and he praised Finance officers and the team for working effectively to collate the accounts and resolve issues.  He confirmed that an unqualified (‘clean’) opinion had been given on the accounts and that the decision on the uncorrected misstatement was supported and did not affect the audit opinion.  The continuing role of the Accounts Governance Group in overseeing the accounts was commended.  The requirement to streamline the accounts planning timetable in several years’ time would apply across local government and other public sector bodies and would be challenging.

A ‘clean’ audit opinion had also been given on the Clwyd Pension Fund accounts although the WAO had noted that standards had not met the level achieved in previous years.  Mr. Herniman was satisfied that these were being addressed for next year’s accounts and was pleased to report good progress made on the recommendation in the report.

The Chief Executive thanked both teams for their work on improving the accounts and Members for their ongoing support.  Whilst the issues on the Clwyd Pension Fund accounts were disappointing, it was important to note that these were being addressed promptly to avoid reoccurrence.  The impending change to statutory publishing deadlines of local government accounts was a significant challenge for both parties and discussions were underway on early planning.

Sally Ellis welcomed the positive report and suggested a future item could be scheduled to give assurance to the Committee on progress with preparations and resources needed to adhere to the earlier deadline.  The Chief Executive said that an update would be made early in 2018.

This approach was supported by Mr. Herniman who said that WAO would need to identify new ways of working with local government colleagues on this issue to assist.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2016/17 be recommended to County Council;

(b)       That the Wales Audit Office reports on the Audit of the Financial Statements for Flintshire County Council and Clwyd Pension Fund be received; and

(c)       That the Letters of Representation for Flintshire County Council and the Clwyd Pension Fund be recommended to County Council.