* AC 2
The
S151 Officer acknowledged the External Auditors apologies and
stated that Committee Members had been asked to forward any
questions to Grant Thornton in respect of the Audit Plan and they
would endeavour to respond.
The
S151 Officer explained that in the report under significant risks
the conclusion of Grant Thornton was that in the revenue cycle,
fraudulent transactions were rebutted and withdrawn due to controls
in place. She also said that journals of over £25,000 are
checked by a senior officer.
A
fair valuation of property has been carried out and the S151
Officer confirmed the valuations had not significantly altered from
last year, in fact valuations had increased, however a material
uncertainty would be stated in the fixed asset notes, due to the
national situation with the Covid
pandemic.
A
Member queried the rise in the Audit fee. The S151 Officer
responded by stating that both pensions and fixed assets led to an
amount of work that would be carried out if the Council was a
private company. It is disproportioned to the risk and has no
effect on the Council’s bottom line as these entries are
reversed out. Despite Local Authority finance teams feeding these
concerns into the Redmond Review, the review did not conclude that
the audit work could be reduced in these areas. A £15,000 one
off payment had been given by the government to all councils to
compensate for the increased fees. Performance Indicators went to
O&S on 13 April 2021. Business
continuity measures were put in place during the Covid Pandemic. The recovery and renewal plan
focussed on key issues such as the administration of business
grants and the Council’s community response.
It
was then RESOLVED that:
The
Plan was noted by the Committee.