To approve the 2018/19 statement of accounts and associated letter of representation to Grant Thornton, the external auditors.

The chief finance officer presented the report and highlighted the following: 

The draft accounts had been published on the website for comments.  The report attached a final set of statement of accounts, together with the letter of representation for committee approval. 

The chief finance officer reported that in 2018/19 there are been a growth in ear marked and general reserves and that there were a number of councils who were not in this position.    The committee offered congratulations to the finance team.  

It was noted that Herefordshire was a small rural authority with an aging population.   The council had made some difficult decisions and were in a more resilient position than other bigger councils.  

The chief financial officer reported that the accounts were available on the website for inspection and it may be possible to check the number of “clicks” to find out how many people had viewed the draft statement of accounts.    It was noted that these were technical documents and there was an ongoing debate about how to make the accounts more accessible.   

RESOLVED

That:

(a)  the 2018/19 statement of accounts be approved; and

(b)  the letter of representation be signed by the chairman of the committee and the chief finance officer.