Agenda item

Report of the Group Director of Operations

The Group Director of Operations submitted a report (previously circulated) updating Members on the accounting policies to be applied in the preparation of the 2022/23 Statement of Accounts (SoA).

Members were advised that the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the Local Government Act 2003, required that the SoA’s were produced in accordance with proper accounting practices and that one of the responsibilities of this Committee was ‘to review the annual statement of accounts prior to approval. Specifically, to consider whether appropriate accounting policies have been followed and whether there are concerns arising from the financial statements or from the audit that need to be brought to the attention of Council.

The report noted that the CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) Code of Practice Guideline Notes have not been release, therefore the majority of the proposed accounting policies for 2023/24 are similar to those used in preparation of the 2022/23 accounts. It is noted that there are no expected changes to the accounting policies.

The report advised the recent CIPFA consultation on changes to the 2023/24 and 2024/25 Codes of Practice in response to the significant backlog in local financial reporting and audit and the proposed backstop dates and recovery processes for local government audits.

RESOLVED – The Committee approves the use in the preparation of the 2023/24 financial statements.