Agenda item - Statement of Accounts 2015/16 (post audit) (Appendix to follow)

Agenda item

Statement of Accounts 2015/16 (post audit) (Appendix to follow)

Minutes:

The Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources and the Financial Services Manager presented the Statement of Accounts 2015/16 and in so doing raised a number of points for the Committee’s consideration.

 

·                A set of accounts had been circulated for the consideration of all Members in July 2016.

·                The documentation provided in the Committee’s agenda pack contained the post audit set of accounts.

·                The external auditors had issued an unqualified judgement on the accuracy of the accounts. Grant Thornton were satisfied that, on the basis of materiality, the Council’s accounts were accurate.

·                The general fund balance as at 31st March 2015 was £4.274 million. This had fallen to £4.159 million as of 31st March 2016 due to use of funding from balances.

·                The Council had £7.417 in usable reserves.

·                Information had been provided in respect of the Artrix; the Council was obliged to supply this information because it had voting rights at the venue.

·                Provisions had been made for potential appeals against business rate settlements as this could have a potentially significant impact on the Council going forward.

·                A typographical error had been identified in the covering report to the accounts; the Committee was being asked to recommend the accounts for the approval of Council, not the Cabinet.

 

Members subsequently discussed a number of points in detail:

 

·                The differences in accounting practices for local authorities compared to businesses and the need for the Council to follow CIPFA guidance.

·                The net worth of the Council and the extent to which this compared with other local authorities.

·                The trend for fluctuations in pension fund liabilities over time in response to changing circumstances, such as assumptions around changes to interest rates.

·                The impact of the Council’s budgetary position on borrowing costs. 

·                The option for the Council to borrow from the Public Works Loan Board.

·                The pension fund liabilities and arrangements in place to address these.  Officers advised that the Council had an agreement in place to pay off the liabilities over a period of 21 years, though the timeframes could be negotiated if considered appropriate.

·                The potential for a local authority not to contribute to paying off pension liabilities in any given year.  Members were informed that this would not be considered advisable.

·                The inclusion of the value of Parkside on the balance sheet and the provision of this valuation by qualified professionals.

·                The need to complete the process for shared ownership of Parkside with Worcestershire County Council.  Members were advised that this was close to completion and that it was considered accurate to list the building as a Council asset.

·                The impact of the delay in purchasing new vehicles following the decrease in the value of the pound in recent months.  Officers agreed to obtain further information on this subject following the meeting.

·                The potential stamp duty requirements for Parkside and the extent to which this had been budgeted for in the Council’s reserves.  Officers confirmed that, whilst no figure had been included in the reserves for this, further information was awaited from the County Council and would be confirmed with Members once it became available.

·                The level of staff redundancies recorded in the accounts and whether information had been reported to the Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) Board about redundancies in that team.  Officers agreed to obtain further clarification on this subject for Members’ consideration.

·                The reasons for staff redundancies in the WRS team.  Officers explained that this had occurred due to a restructure following the return of Trading Standards to Worcestershire County Council.

·                The level of funding available to the Council from Section 106 agreements and the extent to which the authority remained on track to spend this funding.  Members agreed that further information on this subject should be reported for the Committee’s consideration at a future meeting.

 

At the end of these discussions the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee

 

RECOMMENDED that the Statement of Accounts 2015/16 be approved by Council.

Supporting documents: