Agenda item

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2017/18 be approved;

(b)       That the Letter of Representation – Flintshire County Council; be approved; and

(c)        That the Supplementary Financial Information to the Statement of Accounts 2017/18 be noted.

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced Richard Harries and Mike Whiteley of the Wales Audit Office , Paul Vaughan, Interim Technical Finance Manager and Richard Lloyd-Bithell, Corporate Finance. 

The Corporate Finance Manager presented the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2017/18 for approval following consideration by the Audit Committee prior to the meeting of County Council today.  He advised that the report included the Annual Governance Statement which had also been previously considered by the Audit Committee at a meeting held on 6 June 2018 and required approval  by Council. 

The Corporate Finance Manager reported that the annual statutory deadline for the approval of the Statement of Accounts was currently 30 September, however, the regulations under which the Statement of Accounts was prepared were changing with effect from the financial year 2018/19 which meant that the accounts had to be approved by 15 September.  The Statement of Accounts for 2017/18 were successfully prepared to this earlier deadline as preparation for 2018/19.  

The Corporate Finance Manager referred to the Wales Audit Office (WAO) ISA (International Standards on Auditing) 260 report.  He advised that the WAO were required to communicate relevant matters relating to the audit of the financial statements to those charged with governance of the entity (Flintshire County Council for the Statements of the County Council).  He explained that this year the report took the form of a presentation as a means of improving accessibility, and a copy of the presentation was appended to the report. The Corporate Manager continued that during the audit, changes agreed with the WAO were made to the draft Statement of Accounts 2017/18 and the significant changes were shown in appendix 2 of the report.  He explained that the changes related to disclosure purposes only and did not impact on the financial position of the Council. 

The Corporate Finance Manager advised that the WAO reported that the Statement of Accounts had been prepared to a good standard with comprehensive working papers attached.  The ongoing role of the Accounts Governance Group, which oversees the overall production of the Statement of Accounts and had been effective for the last 2 years, was also noted.

The Corporate Finance Manager reported that the Flintshire County Council Letter of Representation to the WAO was appended to the report and confirmed that the information contained in the financial statements was true and accurate and that all information had been disclosed to the auditors. 

Mr Richard Harries, Financial Audit Engagement Lead for Flintshire County Council, introduced himself and his colleague Mike Whiteley from the WAO.  Mr. Harries gave a brief introduction, and in a departure from usual practice, presented the ISA 260 report by way of a presentation which covered the following main points:

·         overall conclusion

·         Auditor General’s responsibilities

·         audit position and issues arising from the audit

·         2018-19 and future years

In concluding his presentation Mr. Harries summarised the main findings and commented that the audit had gone well and there were no significant issues to bring to the attention of the Council.  .He thanked the Corporate Finance Manager, the Interim Technical Finance Manager, and the Finance Team, for their work on the accounts and the help and support provided during the audit process. 

The Chief Executive thanked Mr. Harries for his presentation and the high level of assurance given to Council that it had been a positive year in accounting terms and there had been no further questions raised at the meeting of the Audit Committee which had been held prior to County Council.  The Chief Executive referred to the Clwyd Pension Fund Statement of Accounts, for which approval had been delegated to the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee, and advised that these had been formally approved by the Committee at the meeting held on 5 September 2018.

The Chief Executive spoke in positive terms about corporate ownership of the accounts and the good working professional relationship that existed between the Council and its external auditors which bode well for future work.  The Chief Executive thanked the WAO team, the Corporate Finance Manager, Interim Finance Manager, and the Finance team for their work on the accounts.

Councillor Helen Brown reported that the Audit Committee had considered the Statement of Accounts 2017/18 at a meeting held prior to the meeting of County Council today.  Officers from the WAO had been in attendance and had presented and explained their findings.  The Authority’s Finance officers had provided an update on the draft accounts which had been considered at the previous meeting of the Audit Committee.  The role and importance of the officer Accounts Governance Groups and the change to the accounting policy on accruals of income and expenditure were explained, and reference was made to the amendments to the Councils’ accounts since the draft was published.  Councillor Brown stated that following consideration of the WAO presentation on the Statement of Accounts the Audit Committee had no issues or questions to raise to Council.

Councillor Brown expressed her thanks to the Corporate Finance Manager and his team, the WAO, and all involved in the successful completion of the work on the Statement of Accounts 2017/18 prior to the annual statutory deadline.  Councillor Brown moved the recommendations in the report and this was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin.

Councillor Mike Peers raised a number of queries on the Statement of Accounts 2017/18.  He sought further information around the additional Council Tax Income of £526k and asked if this could be put into the Revenue Account instead of the Reserve Account.  He expressed concern around the £2.7m Council Tax debt and suggested that this be reviewed by the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee.  Councillor Peers referred to page 65 of the report and said there was no figure quoted for the proceeds from long and short term investments.  He referred to the school remuneration bands and asked officers to provide more information on the salary which was paid to one member of staff.  On page 69 or the report Councillor Peers referred to the Declarations of Interest Register for Officers and asked if a public register existed, as it did for Members, to show any declarations made by officers.  The final question raised by Councillor Peers was on rent arrears which he said had increased to £1.5m and suggested that this be brought to the relevant Overview & Scrutiny Committee for further review.  The Chief Executive, Chief Officer (Governance), Corporate Finance Manager and Interim Finance Manager, responded in detail to the questions and concerns which had been raised by Councillor Peers.

 The Chairman asked Members to vote on the recommendations in the report and on being put to the vote, the recommendations were carried.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2017/18 be approved;

(b)       That the Letter of Representation – Flintshire County Council; be approved; and

(c)        That the Supplementary Financial Information to the Statement of Accounts         2017/18 be noted.