Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from:

• Cllr Richard Clewer (non-voting member)
• Cllr Adrian Foster
• Cllr Howard Greenman
• Cllr Martin Smith

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Cllr Pip Ridout declared that she was in receipt of a pension from the Wiltshire Pension Fund and therefore would abstain from any vote relating to the Wiltshire Pension Fund.

To receive any announcements through the Chairman.

There were no Chairman’s announcements.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Tuesday 11 February 2025 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm onThursday 13 February 2025. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no public statements or questions received.

An update report from the Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer) on the Statement of Accounts 2023/24.

Lizzie Watkin, Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer) presented an update on the Statement of Accounts 2023/24. The update covered, but was not limited to, that it had been hoped that the 2023/2024 accounts would be able to be published as draft for delegation, however that was not possible. It was outlined that this was due to the finance team facing continual issues regarding valuations for non-current assets and the technical reporting issues experienced with the new ERP system (Oracle), which included the balances brought forward from the 2022/2023 financial year. At this time delegation for approval would not be able to be requested and therefore the finance team would be pushed hard with an expectation that the statement of accounts 2023/2024 would come forward as part of the agenda for the April Committee meeting requesting delegated approval to finalise the process.

Members asked the following questions with assurance sought regarding the level of confidence held by officers to meet the revised deadline of April. To which it was noted that pressure is continued to be applied to the team and additional agency staff has been brought in with a focus of clearing the backlog. Further detail was provided that individual notes had been created with an aim of the work being completed by the end of the week followed by final reviews.

Further clarity was sought regarding the reasoning behind the delays experienced, to which it was stated that regarding valuations, the valuers would not be able to start work until the previous years of asset valuations had been closed and with several thousands of assets being requested for valuations it was not a small piece of work. It was outlined that the 2022/2023 work had been finalised and had required the team to consider many issues, such as whether assets were disposed of through the year and whether they were operational. The impact of doing back-to-back accounts had also been a notable issue cause of the delay. Regarding Oracle, there had been many issues causing delays, for example understanding the system, how it reports, coding and cost structures and ensuring that parameters were in the right place. This was in a dynamic position compared to the previous SAP system, which had been static. The Council now had experienced Oracle staff in place and agency recruitment had also taken place, with it noted that it was not unusual to experience such issues when using a new system.

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Chuck Berry it was,

Resolved:

To note the contents of the report

The Audit Findings (ISA 260) Report 2023/24 for the Wiltshire Pension Fund from Grant Thornton (external auditors).

Jackson Murray of the external auditors (Grant Thornton) presented the Audit Findings (ISA 260) Report 2023/24 for the Wiltshire Pension Fund. The report covered, but was not limited to, the following points that the audit opinion would still be disclaimed and that there was expected to be some form of modification to the audit opinion before moving down to an unqualified opinion. It was outlined that a lot of work had been done in July to close down final remaining queries with a hybrid approach taken of working remotely as well as in the office. It was noted that this year’s reports had to be done by May 2024, therefore some of the harder to value assets within the fund did not have actual results available. However, as auditors, Grant Thornton had the benefit of more time therefore actuals had been reported by fund managers.

Issues raised by previous audits were acknowledged and it was stated that once Grant Thornton were able to issue an opinion on the Council accounts, they would do this also simultaneously for the Wiltshire Pension Fund upon receipt of the final sets of accounts.

The materiality levels used for the audit were discussed with an overall £16.7m for the materiality of the financial statements listed and £4.2m specific materiality for the Fund Account. Detail was also provided within the report regarding significant risks, with no risks identified, however the IT audit report received at the last Committee raised some deficiencies on the old SAP system however it was acknowledged that this was no longer used. Specific work as also conducted on data migration with no deficiencies identified.

Detail was provided on some of the adjustments made within the audit with the different valuation levels (1,2,3) discussed as well as how one investment asset valued at £24.877m had been classified as level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, whereas other funds within the pool had classified this particular asset as level 2. It was suggested that level 3 had more disclosure than that required a level 2.

It was outlined that a triannual valuation had not been completed in past audits, therefore this was undertaken to provide assurance, with no matters arising of concern. Four recommendations were raised within the report as part of the audit, each receiving an assessment grading, with bank reconciliations graded the highest with “medium” however it was acknowledged that this was not a new issue. Proposed fee variations were also outlined within the report, which would be subject to PSAA approval.

Members asked the following questions including how the proposed local government pension fund merge would affect the Committee’s audit responsibility if it was to go ahead. Clarity was provided that the proposed reform was not regarding the merging of funds but rather the pooling of investment assets. It was outlined that as long as the Wiltshire Pension Fund was constituted as it currently was then it would require an auditor and that should changes occur this would involve discussions with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To receive external audit reports from Deloitte. Item includes:

·       ISA260 for the 2022/23 Council Audit – report to follow

·       ISA260 for the 2022/23 Pension Fund Audit – report to follow

·       Auditors Annual Report covering Value For Money for the 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 – report to follow

·       Letters of Representation – letters to follow

Ian Howse of Deloitte to presented Deloitte’s external audit reports (published in the agenda supplement). The report covered, but was not limited to, the following points that a disclaimer of opinion would be issued in the audit reports for the financial year 2022/23. It was outlined that the procedures taken had identified material misstatements and disclosure deficiencies in the financial statements and that whilst some of these had been addressed, some remained uncorrected due to the backstop restrictions. A particular misstatement for the Pension Fund was identified as a typing error of “cash” rather than “investment”, which was not material and therefore had not been adjusted. Reference was drawn to the letter of representation which would have to be signed as per past iterations.

It was outlined that if the accounts were agreed to be signed before the end of February, this would allow for Grant Thornton to then sign opinion. Reference was also made to an outstanding objection from a local elector on the number of years of accounts which were outstanding which would need to be resolved before certificate.

Detail was provided on the value for money report, with it outlined that there was a weakness in governance, which was reported to the Audit & Governance Committee previously. Reference was also made to the preparation of financial statements which were different from revenue outturn.

Gratitude was placed from Deloitte to the Committee and officers for their forbearance on the work as well as wishing the Council all the best in its work towards returning to a reasonable timeline.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman thanked Deloitte for their work.

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Chuck Berry it was,

Resolved:

To note the contents of the report.

To consider the Statement of Accounts 2022/23.

Item includes:

·       A report from the Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer) on the Statement of Accounts 2022/23

·       Statement of Accounts 2022/23 (including Annual Governance Statement 2022/23)

Lizzie Watkin, Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer) presented the Statement of Accounts 2022/23. The report covered, but was not limited to, the following points that the report requested delegation to the S151 officer in consultation with the Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee to approve the accounts for the financial years 2022/23 and all associated documentation. This would allow the conclusion of the accounts and audit processes for this financial year and be able to publish the final approved accounts. Gratitude was placed to Deloitte for their working relationship over the course of the work which had been difficult but faced with pragmatism. Reference was also made to the representation letter which would need to come from the Chairman of the Audit & Governance Committee. Attention was also drawn to technical and factual amendments which had been made in order to reflect the audit position of the previous years.

Members asked the following questions with reference made to the signatures of the original accounts, to which clarity was provided that these would be updated and ratified if delegated by the Committee.

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Chuck Berry it was,

Resolved:

The Committee:

1. Delegated approval of the following items to the S151 Officer in consultation with the Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee to allow the accounts and audit processes to draw to final conclusion:

2. Approved an amendment to the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) that refers to previous accounts expected audit opinions and ratify that no other amendments are required to the Annual Governance Statement for2022/23 (Appendix A).

Members discussed the Forward Work Programme (FWP) and held a discussion on the agenda for the Committee meeting set to take place in April with guidance provided by officers that the Anti-Fraud Corruption and Bribery activity update and Policy Review Process could be moved to the July Committee meeting.

A discussion also took place on the nature of the communications that would be produced in relation to the Statement of Accounts 2023/2024 with it acknowledged that an election was set to take place and that the perception of communications might be different to councillors and wider public compared to Members who had sat on the Committee. It was suggested that communications have the authority of all group leaders of the Council. Assurance was provided by officers that any communications produced would not be political with a focus on the business of the Council. Further advice would also be sought from the Monitoring Officer before any communications would be sent out.

On the Chairman’s proposal, seconded by Cllr Stuart Wheeler, it was,

Resolved:

To note the FWP with the Anti-Fraud Corruption and Bribery activity update and Policy Review Process to be moved to the July Committee meeting.

To note that the next ordinary meeting of the Committee will be held on 10 April 2025.

The Chairman announced that the next regular meeting of the Committee would take place on 10 April 2025 at 10.30am.

There were no urgent items.