This report updates the Committee with progress on the audit of the Council’s Final Accounts for 2024/25 as it nears completion.

The Committee considered a report giving an update on the progress of the audit of the Council’s Final Accounts for 2024/25.  Attached to the report at Appendix 1 was the draft Statement of Accounts 2024/25 and at Appendix 2 the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement.

The report noted that at the previous meeting of Committee on 27 November 2025 (Minute 18 refers) KPMG had reported that the audit process was nearly finished with no significant issues arising.  Since then, the Council’s finance team had continued to finalise residual audit queries and updated the draft accounts accordingly.  The last areas of audit testing, which in the main related to accounting for pensions transactions and group accounts consolidation, had been completed and there had been a number of presentational amendments to the draft accounts which had been agreed with KPMG.

The report explained that the Council and KPMG teams had reviewed how the audit progressed and that both organisations were benefitting from improved ways of working.  There had been additional work undertaken to support KPMG’s risk assessment on the remaining audit fieldwork required to return the Council to a clean unqualified audit opinion.  This approach was consistent with the National Audit Office’s Building Back Assurance guidance and would be continued as part of next year’s audit of the 2025/26 Statement of Accounts.

The report noted that KPMG intended to issue a disclaimed opinion on the 2024/25 accounts. A comprehensive audit had been undertaken in accordance with the relevant professional and regulatory standards, and the disclaimer arose from the need to complete specific work relating to the opening balance of reserves and did not reflect a lack of audit coverage or effort.  The audit work was substantially complete, with only minor matters remaining to be resolved prior to final conclusion, and no significant issues had been identified that would indicate weaknesses in the Council’s overall financial management or the integrity of its financial reporting.

The report also set out at Appendix 2 the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement.  This had previously been presented to the Committee on 16 July 2025 (Minute 8 refers) and was provided to give context for the Committee’s consideration of the accounts and external auditor’s report.  There had not been any matters of significance requiring an amendment to the Annual Governance Statement, which was unchanged from the version considered at the 16 July 2025 meeting.

The 2024/25 Statement of Accounts would be submitted to Council for approval, alongside the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement, and following this KPMG would issue their audit opinion by the statutory backstop deadline of 27 February 2026.

Resolved –

            That the progress with closing the 2024/25 accounts be noted.