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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Centre, Poulton-le-Fylde

Contact: Roy Saunders  Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager

Items
No. Item

18.

Declarations of interest

Members will disclose any pecuniary and any other significant interests they may have in relation to the matters under consideration.

 

Minutes:

None.

 

19.

Confirmation of minutes pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To approve as a correct record Minutes of the last meeting of the Audit Committee held on 28 June 2016.

Minutes:

The minutes of the Audit Committee meeting held on Tuesday 28 June 2016 were confirmed as a correct record.

 

20.

Statement of Accounts 2015/16 (post audit) pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Report of the Head of Finance.

Minutes:

The Head of Finance submitted a report seeking Audit Committee’s approval of the Council’s Statement of Accounts, following the completion of the audit, for the financial year 2015/16. The Audit Committee had approved the unaudited accounts for the 2015/16 financial year at their meeting on 28 June 2016. Following approval, the Statement of Accounts would be signed, dated and published on the website, no later than 30 September 2016.

 

RESOLVED that the Council’s Statement of Accounts for 2015/16, be approved.

 

21.

Management Representation Letter 2015/16 pdf icon PDF 249 KB

Letter signed by the Chairman of Audit Committee and the Head of Finance (s.151 Officer).

Minutes:

The Chief Financial Officer submitted the Management Representation Letter for 2015/16, the content of which was determined by KPMG. The letter would be signed by the Chairman of Audit Committee and the Chief Financial Officer, prior to it being sent to KPMG, the Council’s External Auditors.

 

RESOLVED that the Management Representation Letter for 2015/16, be signed by the Chairman of the Audit Committee and the Chief Financial Officer and sent to KPMG.

 

22.

Report to those charged with Governance (ISA 260) 2015/16 pdf icon PDF 307 KB

Report to be presented by the Council’s External Auditors - KPMG

Minutes:

Andy Smith, a Director from the Council’s external auditors (KPMG LLP (UK)) submitted their “Report to those charged with governance (ISA 260) for 2015/16”. He summarised the work that had been carried out to discharge their statutory audit responsibilities.

 

He provided Members with an overview of the report, summarising the headline messages for the Authority and key findings, namely;

 

Ø  They anticipated issuing an unqualified audit opinion on the Authority’s financial statements by 30 September 2016.

Ø  They would report that the Annual Governance Statement complied with guidance issued by CIPFA/SOLACE.

Ø  There were no unadjusted audit differences.

Ø  They had agreed a small number of presentational changes to the Statement of Account with Finance. An additional narrative disclosure on the future uncertainties associated with the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, and the potential impact on financial matters reported in the current year and in future periods had been added.

Ø  They noted that the Authority had continued to ensure high quality processes are in place for the production of the accounts and good quality supporting working papers.

 

Mr Smith said that receiving an unqualified audit report with no audit differences identified was a very positive result and that their Value for Money audit did not identify any significant risks. He recognised the good work of the Finance Team and thanked officers for dealing promptly and efficiently with all audit queries.

 

RESOLVED that the External Auditors Report to those charged with Governance, referred to as the ISA 260, for 2015/16, be noted.

 

23.

Annual Review of Financial Regulations and Financial Procedure Rules pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Report of the Head of Finance.

Minutes:

The Head of Finance (S151 Officer) submitted a report.

 

The Head of Governance introduced the report and explained that the Financial Regulations and Financial Procedure Rules were reviewed annually, in accordance with best practice and guidance. She said that the regular review process provided evidence which helped the Council to demonstrate to that it had put arrangements in place to maintain a sound system of internal control. She referred to the proposed amendments listed in paragraph 5.1 of the report.

 

RESOLVED that the proposed changes to the Financial Regulations and Financial Procedure Rules referred to in paragraph 5.1 of the report and set out in full as track changes in Appendix 1, be approved.

 

24.

Annual Review of Internal Audit Charter pdf icon PDF 278 KB

Report of the Head of Finance.

Minutes:

The Head of Finance (S151 Officer) submitted a report.

 

The Head of Governance introduced the report, explaining that the agreement of the Internal Audit Charter for the Audit and Risk Management Section should enable to ensure that it complied with the professional standards specified in paragraph 1.1 of the report.

 

RESOLVED that the Internal Audit Charter attached as Appendix 1 of the report and the Code of Ethics attached as Appendix 2 of the report, be approved.

 

25.

Annual Review of the Risk Management Policy pdf icon PDF 225 KB

Report of the Head of Finance

Minutes:

The Head of Finance (S151 Officer) submitted a report.

 

The Senior Auditor introduced the report, explaining the benefits of the Council’s Risk Management approach. She indicated there had been no significant amendments to the Risk Management Policy since the last review. The Risk Register was available for Councillors to view on the Council’s intranet, along with the proposed actions to mitigate the risks.

 

Significant work had been done to ensure that Risk Management was embedded in the organisation and is facilitated by the I.A. section, but officer led within services.

 

RESOLVED that the Annual Review of the Risk Management Policy document be approved.

 

26.

Date and time of next meeting

Tuesday 8 November 2016 at 6pm, in Committee Room 1.

Minutes:

Audit Committee Meeting, Tuesday 8 November at 6pm in Committee Room 1

 

 

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