Report by Director of Finance

The Director of Finance submitted a report on the Statement of Accounts for 2023/24.  The report explained that the approval of the annual Statement of Accounts was a matter reserved to Council.  The Council’s external auditor, KPMG, was expected to issue a ‘disclaimed’ audit opinion by the statutory backstop date of 28 February 2025.  The accounts would be ‘disclaimed’ purely because KPMG had insufficient time to provide assurance on ‘unaudited’ opening balances and prior year comparisons before the backstop date.  A full audit for 2023/24 had been undertaken and there were no significant issues arising.  The report stated that any adjustments identified during the audit had been corrected and there were no matters arising from the public inspection period, which had now closed.

The following motion was moved by Councillor Emberson and seconded by Councillor Terry and CARRIED:

Resolved –

(1)      That the Statement of Accounts 2023/24, as attached to the report, be approved;

(2)      That the Director of Finance, as Section 151 Officer, be authorised to make minor amendments to the 2023/24 Statement of Accounts, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Corporate Services and Resources.