The Annual Audit Letter for Royal Borough of Greenwich

Transcription

1 The Annual Audit Letter for Royal Borough of Greenwich Year ended 31 March 2015 October 2015 Sue Exton Engagement Lead T E sue.m.exton@uk.gt.com Jamie Bewick Engagement Manager T E jamie.n.bewick@uk.gt.com James Thirgood Manager T E james.e.thirgood@uk.gt.com 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP Royal Borough of Greenwich Annual Audit Letter 2014/15

2 Contents Section Page 1. Key messages 3 Appendix Appendix A: Summary of reports and audit fees 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP Royal Borough of Greenwich Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 2

3 Key messages Our Annual Audit Letter summarises the key findings arising from the work that we have carried out at Royal Borough of Greenwich Council ('the Council') for the year ended 31 March The Letter is intended to communicate key messages to the Council and external stakeholders, including members of the public. Our annual work programme, which includes nationally prescribed and locally determined work, has been undertaken in accordance with the Audit Plan that we issued on 24 March 2015 and was conducted in accordance with the Audit Commission's Code of Audit Practice, International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and other guidance issued by the Audit Commission and Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited. Financial statements audit (including audit opinion) We issued an unqualified opinion on the Council's 2014/15 financial statements on 30 July 2015, well in advance of the deadline set by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Our opinion confirms that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the Council's financial position and of the income and expenditure recorded by the Council. We reported our findings arising from the audit of the financial statements to the Audit and Risk Management Panel. on 28 July The key messages reported were: The council has continued its established track record of timely closedown of its accounts. We received draft financial statements on 5 June We also received accompanying working papers in accordance with the agreed timetable. Both the draft accounts and the supporting working papers were prepared to a good standard. We have discussed with management how we can continue to achieve efficiencies in the audit process in future. We identified a small number of technical accounting adjustments affecting the financial statements. These had no impact on the Council's reported financial position. We made a number of recommendations which have been agreed with officers. Implementation will be monitored by the Audit and Risk Management Panel 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP Royal Borough of Greenwich Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 3

4 Key messages continued Financial statements audit (including audit opinion) - Continued Group accounts were not produced this year as management judged that they were not material to the financial statements. This is because most of the companies' transactions are eliminated on consolidation. The Council did, however, produce a more detailed narrative disclosure setting out its interests in companies for the benefit of the reader of the accounts. Management will need to re-confirm on an annual basis that the exclusion of group accounts is not material to the financial statements. Value for Money (VfM) conclusion We issued unqualified VfM conclusion for 2014/15 on 30 July Whole of Government Accounts The Council has a strong balance sheet including an adequate level of reserves to mitigate the financial risks of the Government's 2015 Spending Review. The Council is currently finalising its medium term financial plan for the period 2015/16 to 2018/19 in order to manage a significant projected funding deficit. Services will have to make sure that agreed budget control totals are delivered, which will require significant cost savings and income generation On the basis of our work, and having regard to the guidance on the specified criteria published by the Audit Commission, we are satisfied that in all significant respects the Council put in place proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ending 31 March We reviewed the consolidation pack which the Council prepared to support the production of Whole of Government Accounts. We reported that the Council's pack was consistent with the audited financial statements. Certification of housing benefit grant claim Our certification review of the housing benefit grant claim is in progress and will be completed by 30 November The results of our sample testing of housing benefit cases to date indicate that there has been a reduction in the number of errors identified compared with 2013/14. Audit fee Our fee for 2014/15 was 259,428 for the main audit and 21,000 for the pension fund, in line with our planned fees. Further detail is included within Appendix A Grant Thornton UK LLP Royal Borough of Greenwich Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 4

5 Appendix A: Reports issued and fees We confirm below the fees charged for the audit and non-audit services. Fees for audit services Per Audit plan Actual fees Council audit 259, ,428 Pension Fund Audit 21,000 21,000 Housing benefit grant certification 34,080 TBC Total audit fees 314,508 TBC Fees for other services Service Fees Audit related services 2014/15 Greater London Authority - Affordable housing 3,500 Teachers Pensions certification 4,200 Pooling of Capital Receipts TBC Non-audit related services Financial Resilience capacity building 10,000 Total 17,700 Reports issued Report Date issued Audit Plan 24 March 2015 Audit Findings Report 23 July 2015 Annual Audit Letter October 2015 Certification Report December Grant Thornton UK LLP Royal Borough of Greenwich Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 5

6 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. 'Grant Thornton' means Grant Thornton UK LLP, a limited liability partnership. Grant Thornton is a member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (Grant Thornton International). References to 'Grant Thornton' are to the brand under which the Grant Thornton member firms operate and refer to one or more member firms, as the context requires. Grant Thornton International and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered independently by member firms, which are not responsible for the services or activities of one another. Grant Thornton International does not provide services to clients. grant-thornton.co.uk 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP Royal Borough of Greenwich Annual Audit Letter 2014/15