Agenda item

Purpose: To provide Members with the draft audit findings report provided by Grant Thornton in respect of their external review of the 2018/19 Financial Statements.

The Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 5) concerning The Audit Findings for West Berkshire Council – Financial Year Ended 31 March 2019.

The purpose of the report was to provide members with the draft audit findings report provided by Grant Thornton in respect of their external review of the 2018/19 Financial Statements.

Members agreed that standing orders should be suspended in order to allow David Johnson to speak on this item.

Mr Johnson noted that the Committee had already seen previous iterations of the report. Changes were highlighted in blue text. The areas which were still under review were set out on page 15 of the agenda. He thanked colleagues in the Finance Team for the work they had put in to trying to progress these issues. He noted that the outcome of the audit of the Berkshire Fund had been delayed which had an impact on this audit. The findings had been received in late January and they were working through that report to see if there were any issues which would impact on this audit. If any substantial issues were identified they would be reported back to this Committee.

One of the key issues had been the valuation of the Council’s Land and Buildings. Grant Thornton were of the opinion that the approach adopted in previous years was flawed. They had therefore requested that the Council revalue these assets which had resulted in an uplift of £65m on the Council’s balance sheet. The assessment of the process adopted was marked as red not the information itself. Joseph Holmes reassured Members that the only change was an increase in the value of the assets in the Council’s balance sheet. The Council would now be in a better position for the audit the following year.

It was anticipated that an unqualified opinion would be issued. He noted that page 47 of the agenda highlighted that it was anticipated that Grant Thornton would need to charge the Council an additional audit fee to reflect the additional work that had been done. This figure was not yet known but would be discussed with Officers in due course.

Councillor Tony Linden queried whether Mr Johnson anticipated a delay in the 2019/20 audit. Mr Johnson stated that it was never their intention to be late. The 31 July was a reporting date and not a deadline and there was no requirement to publish the documents by this date. Grant Thornton would however be reviewing their workload and resources going forward. Members queried if they anticipated an increase in the fees for the following year.

Mr Johnson stated that auditors recorded the time they spent on audit activity and they would use this information and some benchmarking data to derive the fee for the following year. The Public Sector Audit Appointment Panel could be called on to arbitrate on any disputed fees.

It was agreed that a report would be brought to the April meeting which would provide an update on the 2019/20 close down.

Standing orders were reinstated.

The Chairman thanked Officers and the Auditors for the work they had done to date.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.