Statement of Accounts

The Statement of Accounts give electors, local taxpayers, members of the Council, employees and other interested parties comprehensive information about the Council's finances. 

The unaudited accounts are usually required to be published by 31 May each year, they are then audited by Grant Thornton UK LLP and the audited accounts, together with the Auditor's report, are published by 31 July. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and in response to the Redmond review, the Accounts and Audit Regulations were amended to extend the publication dates for the unaudited Statement of Accounts and the ensuing public inspection and audit periods. The new deadline for the publication of unaudited Statement of Accounts was 31 July 2021, the public inspection period to start on or before the first working day in August and the external audit should be completed by 30 September 2021.

The 2020/21 Statement of Accounts presents the overall financial position of the Council for the year ended 31 March 2021. The unaudited Accounts were authorised for issue by the Director of Finance on 1 July 2021 and the public inspection period for the 2020/21 Accounts ran from 2 July 2021 to 12 August 2021. 

The audited Accounts were authorised for issue by the Director of Finance on 30 September 2021. The audit of the Statement of Accounts and the Value for Money has been completed. The audited Accounts were considered by the Audit and Assurance Committee on 27 September 2021 and were approved on that date and the value for money conclusion was considered on 7 December 2021. Grant Thornton have now issued the audit closure certificate.



Annual Governance Statement

The Annual Governance Statement sets out the main features of the Council's corporate governance arrangements and its effectiveness. The Annual Governance Statement for 2020/21 has been signed by the Leader and Chief Executive and approved by the Audit and Assurance Committee on 27 September 2021 and is set out below.