Agenda item

Grant Thornton (External Auditors) presented  the Audit Findings Report which summarised the results of Grant Thornton’s audit of the 2024/25 statement of accounts for the Council and Avon Pension Fund and included the Annual Governance Statement.  In relation to the audit of the group, the meetings of the board of Aequus and the Council did not align and it was suggested this be rectified in the future.

In response to questions it was explained:

·  That there were no objections to the 2024/25 statement of accounts but there remained one open objection to the 2023/24 accounts.

·  A new financial system is due to be implemented during 2026/27 which added tighter controls to journals to address previous concerns.  Members would like a briefing on the new financial system.

·  External audit confirmed that their testing of journals included a range of values not just amounts over £500k.

·  With regard to changes on the system there would be an audit trail to evidence this.

·  In respect of duplicate accounts found on Agresso and whether IT staff had been migrated to have separate accounts.  This information would be clarified and sent to members.

On a motion from Councillor Toby Simon, seconded by Councillor Malcolm Treby, it was

RESOLVED that

1)  The issues contained within the Audit Findings Reports for the Council are noted;

2)  the audited Statement of Accounts, including the Letters of Representation for both Bath & North East Somerset Council and the Avon Pension Fund for 2024/25, are approved;

3)  authority is delegated to the Chair of the Audit Committee, in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, to approve any amendments to the Statement of Accounts, below the audit materiality threshold, arising from the concluding stages of Grant Thornton’s audit; and

4)  future meetings of the board of Aequus and the Council be aligned to support the external audit process.