Agenda item

(a)       That the draft Statement of Accounts 2013/14 (including the Annual Governance Statement), together with the underlying policies, be noted;

(b)       That the planned provision of ‘drop-in’ sessions over the summer period be noted.

The Corporate Finance Manager presented the Statement of Accounts 2013/14 (subject to audit) for Members’ information only at this stage.  The accounts would then be submitted to the Committee in late September 2014 for approval and recommendation to County Council following the audit, to meet the statutory deadline.

The Corporate Finance Manager and Finance Manager - Technical Accountancy delivered a presentation which detailed the main points:

·         Purpose and Background

·         Key Dates

·         Responsibility

·         Changes

·         Contents and Overview

·         Links to Budget Monitoring

·         Headlines - Council Fund, Reserves at Year End, Capital and HRA

·         Core Statements

·         Next Steps

Changes to the Code of Practice for Local Authority Accounting 2013/14 had resulted in the need to restate figures for 2012/13: explanatory notes throughout the document indicated where this had happened.  In addition, officers had taken the opportunity to review and make a number of improvements to the accounts to assist the reader and to address comments previously raised by the Wales Audit Office (WAO).  The Committee was reminded of the complexity of producing the annual accounts which meant there was an expectation for further changes to be made prior to submission of the final accounts.  Drop-in sessions had been arranged for 9 September 2014 to provide all Members with the opportunity to raise questions with officers prior to presentation of the final Statement of Accounts on 24 September 2014 along with the opinion of the Wales Audit Office (WAO).

Councillor Alison Halford thanked the Finance Manager - Technical Accountancy and her team for their efficiency in producing the Draft Statement of Accounts 2013/14.  This was echoed by the Chair and other Members of the Committee who were grateful for the time allowed for Members to read the report in detail together with the explanatory notes contained within the accounts.  Councillor Haydn Bateman congratulated the Corporate Finance Manager on his appointment following the recent management restructure.

In response to a question from Councillor Ian Roberts, it was confirmed that balancing entries had been eliminated in the accounts for 2012/13 and for 2013/14.  Mr. John Herniman of Wales Audit Office said that this had been acknowledged in the 2012/13 report previously submitted to the Committee.

Councillor Halford requested an explanation on the reduction in the number of houses within the Council’s stock between 2013 and 2014.  The Chief Executive said that this may be due to Right To Buy sales, however the Finance Manager - Technical Accountancy agreed to look into this and provide a full response.

Following a question on the increased expenditure on the Housing Revenue Account Income and Expenditure Statement, it was pointed out that clarification on such changes was contained in the note on non-current asset accounting included within the accounts.

Councillor Glyn Banks sought clarification on the ‘miscellaneous’ group of inventories.  The Finance Manager - Technical Accountancy said that this contained a number of various items of stock including recycling bins etc, but would provide written detail.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the draft Statement of Accounts 2013/14 (including the Annual Governance Statement), together with the underlying policies, be noted;

(b)       That the planned provision of ‘drop-in’ sessions over the summer period be noted.