The External Auditor will present Document “I” which summarises the findings from the audit of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Recommended-

That the Committee is asked to:

·         note the contents of the Audit Completion Report prior to approving the Statement of Accounts including consideration of the summary of misstatements at Appendix A; and

·         approve the letter of representations requested at Appendix B.

(Mark Dalton –  0113 387 8735)

The External Auditor presented Document “I” which summarised the findings from the audit of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Members were informed that all the work (detailed on page 317) had been satisfactorily completed and External Audit would be able to:

§  issue an unqualified opinion on the statement of accounts; and

§  conclude that the Council had made proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources.

It was reported that whole of government returns were not due until 31 August 2018 but was likely to be completed by the end of this week or next week.

Members were informed of the following in relation to significant risks highlighted in section 2 of the report:

Management override of controls – based on the work completed to date External Audit had not identified any indication of management override of controls and had no matters to bring to the Committee’s attention.

Revenue Recognition, fees and charges -  there were no matters to bring to the Committee’s attention as External Audit had not identified any indication of revenue being recognised in the wrong year.

Property, plant and equipment valuation – there were no matters to bring to the Committee’s attention.

Defined benefit liability valuation – External Audit had no indication of material estimation error in respect of the defined benefit liability valuation and had no matters to bring to the Committee’s attention.

Revision to Minimum Revenue Provision Calculation – the audit work had provided the assurance that was sought and had not identified any material issues to bring to your attention.

Useful asset lives and depreciation of property, plant and equipment – there were no significant findings arising from the work on the key management judgement of useful asset lives and depreciation.

It was reported that External Audit had reviewed the Council’s accounting policies and disclosures and concluded that they complied with the requirements of the Code of Practice on Local Council Accounting (the Code). In line with External Audit expectations, there had been no significant changes to accounting policies for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Members were informed that during the course of the audit External Audit did not encounter any significant difficulties and had the full co-operation of management.

It was reported that a number of minor misstatements relating to expenditure (members allowances and senior officers remuneration and termination payment disclosures) for which Management had amended. All amendments would be incorporated in the final version of the accounts and External Audit would issue a final audit letter tomorrow.

Members were informed that the Council needed to ensure that declaration of interests from management were sought in a timely basis both throughout the year and in advance of preparation of the statement of accounts.  The Council had agreed to review related party transactions earlier in future years.

In response to a Member’s question it was reported that the minor misstatements such as the members allowances note would be included in the follow up letter.

A Member requested further information in relation to IT disaster recovery and business continuity.

Resolved-

(1)       That the Committee:

·         noted the contents of the Audit Completion Report prior to approving the Statement of Accounts including consideration of the summary of misstatements at Appendix A; and

·         approved the letter of representations requested at Appendix B.

(2)       That  a further report be presented to the Committee on business continuity and IT disaster recovery systems.

Action:           External Auditor (1)/Assistant Director Finance and Procurement (2)