To consider the external audit findings report for the year ended 31 March 2025.

NB: Papers to follow.

The Director of Finance (DOF) introduced the report and offered her thanks to the council’s finance team and Grant Thornton (GT) for the collaborative work they had undertaken this year and working through a challenging audit process to bring the audit findings report in a timely manner. The following principal point were noted:

1. The report confirmed the statement of accounts for 2024/25 were true, fair and free from material error. They were compliant with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) code of practice and the local audit and accountability act.
2. A small number of disclosure and presentation adjustments were identified. Some had been made in the final set of financial statements. Those that had not been adjusted were generally immaterial in nature.
3. The DOF had alerted an issue in relation to decision making and governance in respect of an individual capital project to GT. She had conducted a piece of internal assurance work to identify opportunities where controls could be strengthened around capital projects. The findings had been shared with both internal and external audit. GT orchestrated additional work to provide assurance in respect of the financial statements and their value for money arrangements of whether there were any further instances to consider. The results confirmed and provided assurance in what the internal review had shown that there were no additional risks, instances or breaches in laws or regulations.

The Public Sector Audit Director (PSAD) explained they had received the accounts well in advance of the statutory deadline of the 30^th of June which enabled them to start the audit earlier than planned. She advised the audit had gone well with both teams working together and spending some time physically on site at Plough Lane had helped move audit queries forward. A handful of areas were outstanding, all of which were expected at that stage and were in line with their original time scale to sign by the end of the month.

With regards to the capital projects and in line with ISA 240, as auditors, GT were required to carry out additional procedures to ensure there were no further issues which could impact on their opinion. No further issues were identified, and an unqualified opinion was proposed.

The PSAD expressed her thanks to the DOF, chief accountant (CA) and the finance team for their support. The council were in a great position, not common in the sector at that time and with the additional challenges that were faced, to stay on track with the original time scale was a great achievement for both sides.

The Public Sector Audit Manager (PSAM) gave an overview of the report which included details around materiality, an overview of the significant risks identified and other areas impacting the audit. She expressed her thanks to the CA and noted her team had reported that this had been one of the most fun audits they had done.

In response to committee questions, it was noted:

1. How the DOF discovered the management override  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89