Agenda item

4.1 Annual Letter in respect of audit year just ended.

4.2 Update on the Regulatory Plan.

4.3 Update on Financial Audit work.

4.4 Verbal update in respect of regulatory reports.

4.1  The Annual Audit Letter for 2011/12 was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

Mrs Lynn Pamment, PwC highlighted the key messages from the Annual Letter as follows –

·         An unqualified audit opinion on the accounting statements was issued on 28 September, 2012 confirming that that they present a true and fair view of the Council’s financial position and transactions.

·         The Council has made a significant amount of progress in addressing issues with producing the statement of accounts and meeting the accounts publication deadline of 30^th September.

·         The External Auditor emphasises the importance of ensuring these improvements are sustained and that sufficient and appropriate resources are dedicated to the production of the statutory accounts going forward in accordance with required timescales.

·         The External Auditor overall is satisfied that the Council has in place appropriate arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Areas where the effectiveness of these arrangements have yet to be demonstrated or where improvements could be made are noted in the Letter and will be highlighted in the Auditor General’s Annual Improvement Report.

·         A certificate of completion on the accounting statements is yet to be issued pending resolution of an objection to the accounts form a local elector.

Members acknowledged the improvements and efforts made by the Finance Service in delivering the statement of accounts on time in line with the statutory timetable. In the subsequent discussion  on the Audit Letter they raised the following matters –

·         The staff position and the progress being made to fill key senior accountancy posts on a permanent basis which they regarded as a risk area in view of the need to consolidate the position in readiness for the 2012/13 accounts preparation and production process. The Interim Head of Function (Resources) explained the restructuring steps being taken to address the issue including filling knowledge and skills gaps within the context of other developments including the introduction of a new Financial Ledger System and its implications for how the Council conducts its business.

·         The progress being made in developing business continuity and disaster recovery plans the absence of which has been highlighted in external audit reports for a number of years.

It was resolved to accept the Annual Audit Letter for 2011/12 and to note its contents.

4.2  The External Audit Work Plan and Timetable for the period from February 2012 to March, 2013 was presented for the Committee’s information.

Mr Andy Bruce, WAO  Performance Audit Lead updated Members on the status of current regulatory activity both on an all Wales and Anglesey specific bases along with the process and timescale for reporting back to the Council  in respect of each piece of work as relevant.

Clarification of the following issues was sought –

·         Whether External Audit feedback on the Annual Governance Statement for 2011/12 will be available in time to inform good practice as regards the preparation of the 2012/13 Statement. Mr Andy Bruce confirmed that whilst he would be happy to provide local feedback in respect of Anglesey’s AGS he could not give assurance that feedback from the overall evaluation of the 22 Welsh authorities’ AGS would be available.

·         The way in which the activity of the Estyn Education Recovery Board and the accompanying Post Inspection Action Plan fits in with the mainstream Regulatory Programme as presented. It was noted that it was expected that the Audit Committee would be kept informed and up to date regarding the Estyn Post Inspection Action Plan as part of its general oversight role of regulatory activity across the Council.

It was resolved to accept the update on the Regulatory Plan as information.

ACTION ARISING: WAO to clarify how the Estyn Post Inspection Action Plan and Education Recovery Board dovetail with the Regulatory Work Plan.

4.3  The Financial Audit Progress report was presented for the Committee’s information. The report outlined  the position in respect of progress against the key milestones set out in the 2011/12 Financial Audit outline and grant certification work.

Mrs Lynn Pamment, PwC updated the Committee on progress in relation to grant certification work for 2011/12 grants and also for 2010/11 grants all of which claims for that year had now been certified excepting the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Subsidy which was in the process of being reviewed prior to certification.

It was resolved to accept the report and to note the information.