Agenda item

(External Auditor) To consider and note the following attached reports from the External Auditor (AGC-004-2013/14):

(a)        Audit Plan 2012/13; and

(b)        Planning Letter 2013/14.

The External Auditor presented two reports to the Committee, the first being the Audit Plan for 2012/13, which summarised the work that would be undertaken in respect of the 2012/13 financial year, and the second was the Planning Letter for 2013/14, which set out the proposed fees and programme of work for 2013/14 financial year.

In respect of the Audit Plan for the 2012/13 financial year, the External Auditor reported that the audit was designed to respond to significant risks where additional resources would be concentrated to provide an opinion on the financial statements and the Value for Money conclusion. The proposed audit fee for the year was £85,329 plus VAT, and the proposed fee for the certification of claims and returns was £31,850; both fees agreed with the scale fee published by the Audit Commission. It was highlighted that the fee for the 2012/13 financial year audit was lower than the previous year, which reflected the Audit Commission’s outsourcing of its in-house Audit Practice and internal efficiency savings at the Audit Commission.

The External Auditor informed the Committee of the expected key outputs from the audit:

·                     a detailed report on the findings from the audit in September 2013;

·                     an opinion on the financial statements by 30 September;

·                     a Value for Money conclusion by 30 September 2013;

·                     an assurance statement on the Whole of Government Accounts by 4 October 2013;

·                     a summary of findings from the audit in the Annual Audit Letter in October 2013; and

·                     the results of the Grant Claims and Returns certification work in January 2014.

The External Auditor had highlighted the implementation of the CIPFA Property Management System as an issue, but this was not currently considered a significant audit risk. The Director of Finance & ICT stated that the new system had been populated with the requisite data and it would be used as part of the production of the Statutory Statement of Accounts for 2013/14.

With regard to the Planning Letter for 2013/14, the External Auditor reported on the proposed fees and programme of work for the 2013/14 financial year, and stated that the focus of the planned work would be on the audit of the financial statements and the Value for Money conclusion. The proposed audit fee for 2013/14 was £85,329 plus VAT, and the proposed fee for the certification of claims and returns was £28,100 plus VAT. The certification scale fee had been reduced from the proposed fee for 2012/13 as it had been based upon the actual adjusted fee charged for 2011/12; it was highlighted that certification fees tended to vary from year to year as it was dependent on the complexity of the issues identified for the Housing and Council Tax Benefit claims.

The planned outputs for 2013/14 were as follows:

·                     an Audit Plan in January 2014;

·                     the Annual Governance Report in September 2014;

·                     the Auditor’s report with opinion on the financial statements and Value for Money conclusion in September 2014;

·                     the Auditor’s report and Assurance Statement on the Whole of Government accounts in September 2014;

·                     the Annual Audit Letter in October 2014; and

·                     the Grant Claims and Returns Certification report in January 2015.

The Committee noted the retirement of the External Auditor’s previous Lead Engagement with the Council and thanked him for his work over the last six years, particularly the sensitivity that was always shown when dealing with any issues that arose.

Resolved:

(1)        That the following reports from the External Auditor be noted:

(a)        the Audit Plan for 2012/13; and

(b)        the Planning Letter for 2013/14.