Issue - meetings

The Board was asked to consider the following report, Grant Thornton Audit Plan 2012/2013.

Mr. P. Jones introduced the report and in doing so informed Members that in planning their audit they needed to understand the challenges and opportunities the Council was facing and to consider the impact of key developments relevant to the Council’s business, whilst taking account of national audit requirements as set out in the Code of Audit Practice.

The Audit Opinion Plan 2012/2013 sets out the work Grant Thornton proposed to undertake in relation to the Audit of the financial accounts for 2012/2013 an audit focused on risks, as detailed in the report.

Mr. P. Jones responded to Members’ questions and clarified, as stated in the report, that they would continue to monitor the Town Centre regeneration progress though their discussions with officers and would consider the accounting implications of these schemes where relevant.  In respect of Transformation, as part of their Value for Money (VFM) conclusion they would, as detailed in the report:

·         review the medium term financial plan and consider how the Council was identifying and managing savings;

·         continue to monitor the Council’s path to transformation and provide support where appropriate.

In response the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Resources informed Members that quarterly Finance Monitoring reports were presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Board, and that transformation savings were detailed in those reports.

RESOLVED that the Grant Thornton, Audit Opinion Plan 2012/2013 be noted and agreed.