Councillors to be asked to approve 2023/24 accounts in final action to clear backlog
Councillors are to be asked to approve St Albans City and District Council’s statement of accounts for the 2023/24 financial year.
A decision in favour would bring a welcome end to a backlog of audit approvals which the Council has experienced in common with other local authorities.
The 2023/24 accounts will go before an extraordinary meeting of the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee on Thursday 20 March along with auditor KPMG’s annual report.
Delays in auditing local authority accounts have been acknowledged by the Government as a national problem.
The causes range from staff shortages among external auditors to the adverse impact of the Covid pandemic.
In January, the Committee approved the accounts for the financial years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23.
This was made possible by recent Government legislation to clear the backlog which allows for auditors to issue a ‘disclaimed opinion,’ neither giving full approval to the accounts or non-approval.
KPMG has given a disclaimed opinion for the 2023/24 accounts as the Council expected.
Councillor Giles Fry, Lead for the Budget and Financial Strategy, said:
I am delighted that the 2023/24 accounts will now go before the Audit and Governance Committee for approval and we have the opportunity to put this backlog issue behind us.
This has been a frustrating period for us and dozens of other local authorities for reasons outside of our control. Our finance team will be able to concentrate on their day-to-day work and the future rather than the past.
I can assure residents that our 2023/24 accounts comply with all laws and regulations and nothing untoward or unexpected has been highlighted.
In its annual report, KPMG has highlighted one issue of concern under its assessment of Value for Money: the Council’s arrangements for achieving financial efficiency and effectiveness.
This is identified as “a risk that the Council does not have in place adequate governance arrangements to ensure compliance with its statutory financial reporting responsibilities”.
The report recommends the Council “should invest in additional resources within the finance team to ensure future compliance with statutory reporting deadlines”.
Cllr Fry said:
While the KPMG report is overwhelmingly positive, we are well aware that we need to add to the overall level of our resources in our finance team and are taking steps to address this issue.
In common with other Councils across the country, we have found there is a shortage of finance staff, especially those with experience of handling major public sector accounts.
Our recruitment team is on the case and will continue to be proactive in searching for suitable staff in what is a very competitive job market.
Despite these difficulties, I am pleased that the auditors could see no risk or weakness associated with our work at improving economy, efficiency and effectiveness. It shows we are meeting the challenge by providing our residents with a financially sound and stable Council.
Media contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer: 01727- 819533; john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.