Agenda item

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2013/14 be recommended to County Council; and

(b)       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 Statement of Accounts for 2013/14 together 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.

The final accounts incorporated changes agreed by WAO during the course of the audit, which had been discussed with officers and relevant actions taken.  In response to comments previously raised by WAO and queries from Members, a briefing note had been circulated in advance of the meeting, highlighting the main changes to the final accounts since submission of the draft version to the Committee in July 2014.  All Members of the Council had been provided with responses to queries raised at that meeting, along with details of the available drop-in sessions held on 9 September 2014.  In line with the usual practice, a copy of the final accounts had been included on the agenda for the County Council meeting, to be held in the afternoon, where approval would be sought within the statutory deadline of 30 September.

Audit of Financial Statements report for Flintshire County Council 2013/14

Mr. John Herniman of WAO acknowledged the production of the accounts comprising good quality working papers with improvements shown from previous years, within the statutory deadline, which he said was a significant achievement.  In recognising the complex work involved, he thanked the Finance team for their support and efforts in reaching the current position.  An unqualified (clean) opinion had been issued on the financial statements and a summary given of the corrected misstatements identified in the report, which had been agreed with management and incorporated in the final accounts.  An overview was given of the risks identified during the audit process, together with actions taken to address other significant issues as set out in the report.  As a recurring issue, although the WAO had taken a different view to that of the Council on pension contributions on Equal Pay and Single Status settlements, it had accepted that no further action was necessary for the 2013/14 accounts.  Further advice was given on clarifying arrangements for the setting up and monitoring of reserves and improving the reconciliation of pension membership data.

Audit of Financial Statements report for Clwyd Pension Fund 2013/14

Ms. Amanda Hughes of WAO explained that the report which had been made available was not the final version and contained two errors.  Under ‘Financial systems risks’, it was noted that approximately £293.8m of unquoted investments were held by the Pension Fund in 2013/14 and that reference to the date in paragraph 14 should be 31 March 2014.  Attention was drawn to the corrected misstatements which had been incorporated in the final accounts, mainly relating to the timing of investment reports received after preparation of the accounts - which was beyond the control of the Finance section - and the use of updated information to correctly accrue for lump sum accruals.  Ms. Hughes noted the actions being taken to address the risks identified in the report and confirmed that no material misstatements had been identified.  She went on to advise of the need to strengthen arrangements to capture all data on retirements and deaths up to and including year end.

As further assurance to Members, the Chief Executive explained the involvement of the Corporate Finance Manager and Chief Officers in the process for finalising the accounts and the intention for further work to be undertaken on the treatment of reserves.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the final version of the Statement of Accounts 2013/14 be recommended to County Council; and

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