Issue - meetings

(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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38