The Annual Audit Letter for Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable

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1 The Annual Audit Letter for Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable Year ended 31 March October 2015 Paul Grady Engagement Lead T E paul.d.grady@uk.gt.com Stephanie Liu Assistant Manager T E stephanie.liu@uk.gt.com Thomas Slaughter Assistant Manager T E thomas.m.slaughter@uk.gt.com 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP Annual Audit Letter 2014/15

2 Contents Section Page 1. Key messages 3 Appendices A Key issues and recommendations 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP 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 for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester ("PCC") and the Chief Constable for Greater Manchester ("Chief Constable") for the year ended 31 March The Letter is intended to communicate key messages to the PCC, Chief Constable 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 joint Audit Plan that we issued on 12 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 reported our findings arising from the audit of the financial statements in our Audit Findings Report to the PCC and the Chief Constable in September We also reported our findings to their joint Audit and Accounts Committee on 28 September. The most significant adjustments that were made were as follows: The draft accounts submitted for audit were of a high quality and were well supported by working papers and other evidence. The presentation of intra-group funding from the PCC to the Chief Constable was updated in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statements (CIES) for both organisations so as to present this funding within the net cost of services. The funding cost was previously shown within "other operating expenditure". The Chief Constable updated the draft accounts to recognise a 16.7 million provision for additional lump sum payments to retired police officers. This liability only arose after the draft accounts had been submitted for audit, as a result of the Milne vs. GAD Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling. These additional costs, which are accounted through the Police Officer Pension Fund Account, are matched by additional topup grant funding from the Home Office, and have no net impact on the PCC's reserves. We identified other minor adjustments to the financial statements, all of which management agreed to process. These adjustments related to reclassification and disclosure changes but did not alter reported financial performance. We issued, on 30 September 2015, an unqualified opinion on both the PCC's financial statements and the Chief Constable's financial statements, for the year ended 31 March 2015, meeting the deadline set by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Our opinion confirms that the financial statements for both organisations give a true and fair view of both the PCC's and Chief Constable's financial positions, and of the income and expenditure recorded by both the PCC and Chief Constable Grant Thornton UK LLP Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 3

4 Key messages (continued) Value for Money (VfM) conclusion In common with other police forces, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) faces a significant challenge of working within a substantially reducing budget whilst continuing to deliver a vital public service. The PCC has a Strategic Financial Outlook (SFO) which includes financial forecasts for the four year period to 2018/19. At the date we issued our opinions, the latest version of the SFO projected a funding shortfall of 153 million over that period, of which 116m of savings had been identified, leaving a shortfall of 37m. In response to the financial challenge, the PCC and Chief Constable have embarked on an ambitious portfolio of work, called "Fit for Future", which aims to develop a new operating model for the Force, in support of the PCC's strategic priorities. Our work assessed the arrangements in place in both organisations in responding to the significant financial challenge and ensuring resources are prioritised appropriately, in order to meet the challenge of reducing budgets whilst, as a minimum, maintaining operational effectiveness in service provision. We concluded: There is clear understanding across the PCC and the Chief Constable's senior management teams of the scale of the required change, the challenges faced, and the inherent risks involved. The Force is making good use of the 'systems thinking approach' in developing projects from the ground up, thereby improving buy-in and chances of success The PCC and Force have an effective approach to collaboration and are actively involved in national initiatives to promote efficiency and innovation It is clear the Force views cultural change as an important driver of success and has set out a clear, mature approach within its transformational framework both organisations have a strong track record of delivering savings and meeting budgets; the 2014/15 budget included 13.6 m of required savings and was met without the planned use of 2.1m of reserves due to higher than anticipated police officer turnover and police officer pension savings In our view, there are effective arrangements n place in response to the challenges faced by the PCC and Chief Constable, both in respect of the overarching financial challenge and in respect of the significant portfolio of work being undertaken in response to this challenge. We identified a number of residual risk areas, all of which the PCC and Chief Constable are taking forward. This included further developing and streamlining the governance and accountability arrangements in place throughout the portfolio of work, and the importance of finalising the strategic target operating model, which the Force hopes to complete by November There is also scope to further develop the articulation of the vision for Greater Manchester, to ensure this fully projects the clear and ambitious vision both organisations seek to deliver. 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 both the PCC and Chief Constable have each put in place proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in their use of resources for the year ending 31 March Grant Thornton UK LLP Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 4

5 Key messages (continued) Whole of Government Accounts Audit fee We reviewed the consolidation pack which the PCC and Chief Constable prepared to support the production of Whole of Government Accounts. We reported that the pack was consistent with the audited financial statements. Our fee for 2014/15 was 91,140 excluding VAT,which was in line with our planned fee for the year and was unchanged from the previous year. Further detail is included within appendix A Grant Thornton UK LLP Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 5

6 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 Police and Crime Commissioner audit 61,140 61,140 Chief Constable audit 30,000 30,000 Total audit fees 91,140 91,140 Fees for other services Service Fees Audit related services Nil Non-audit related services (tax) 13,500 Reports issued Report Audit Plan Audit Findings Report Annual Audit Letter Date issued 12 March 28 September 31 October 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 6

7 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 Annual Audit Letter 2014/15