Issue - meetings

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2020/21 be approved;

(b)       That the Audit Wales presentation ‘Audit of the Group Financial Statements 2020/21 - Flintshire County Council’ be noted; and

(c)       That the Letter of Representation be approved.

The Corporate Finance Manager presented the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2020/21 incorporating changes agreed with Audit Wales (AW) during the course of the audit.

Following receipt of the draft accounts in July, responses to the questions raised by the Committee had been circulated and no further issues had been raised during the consultation period over the summer.  There were no uncorrected misstatements and no significant issues had arisen during the audit which was nearing completion.  A summary of corrected misstatements was appended to the report and it was noted that there would be a presentational change to note 15 on ‘cash and cash equivalents’ prior to final sign-off.  The Committee was asked to approve the final version on that basis which was within the statutory deadline set by Welsh Government which had been extended due to the ongoing pandemic.

Matt Edwards of Audit Wales gave a presentation covering key areas and findings of the audit:

·         Auditor General’s responsibilities

·         Audit position

·         Overall findings

·         Impact of COVID-19 on this year’s audit

·         Independence

·         Looking ahead

During the presentation, Matt Edwards thanked Council officers for their work in producing the financial statements to a good standard and in a timely manner despite the challenges arising from remote working due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  He said that subject to the Committee’s approval, the Auditor General intended issuing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements.

Allan Rainford acknowledged work undertaken by officers to achieve this positive outcome.  In response to a question, Matt Edwards explained the process for reviewing estimated figures on the Council’s assets and pension liabilities and confirmed that no issues had been identified to raise with the Committee.

The Chief Executive said that the timetable for the annual accounts for next year - the current longer timetable or new shorter one - remained open as a question and would depend upon discussions with Audit Wales.  He also spoke about positive outcomes from joint working with Audit Wales colleagues and the establishment of the Accounts Governance Group.

As Cabinet Member for Finance, Social Value and Procurement, Councillor Paul Johnson paid tribute to Council teams and Audit Wales colleagues for the way in which they had worked together during the emergency period to finalise the accounts.

In thanking Audit Wales colleagues for their professionalism throughout the process, the Corporate Finance Manager also expressed his appreciation to Finance colleagues across the organisation for helping to maintain the quality of the accounts and in particular key officers from Corporate Finance.

The recommendations were approved by Councillor Martin White and seconded by Sally Ellis.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2020/21 be approved;

(b)       That the Audit Wales presentation ‘Audit of the Group Financial Statements 2020/21 - Flintshire County Council’ be noted; and

(c)       That the Letter of Representation be approved.