Item 11 - 2022 23 Annual Audit Report
West Dunbartonshire Council · 18 December 2024
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 18 December 2024 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer - Resources Council: 18 December 2024 Subject: 2022/23 Annual Audit Report 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of this report is to present the 2022/23 Annual Audit Report to Members and Controller of Audit, for the Council and the Trusts administered by the Council, prior to approving the 2022/23 Audited Annual Accounts for both the Council and the Charities administered by the Council. 1.2 The report provides Members with an update on the external audit of the Annual Accounts of the Council and the Charities administered by the Council for the year ended 31 March 2023. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 Members are requested to consider the Annual Audit Report to Members and Controller of Audit 2022/23 for the Council and the Charities administered by the Council – Appendix 1 to this report. 3. BACKGROUND 3.1 Forvis Mazars (Mazars) have been appointed as the Council’s external auditors from financial year 2022/23 for a period of five years. 3.2 The Council’s draft unaudited 2022/23 Annual Accounts (including the Group Accounts) were passed to the Accounts Commission on the 03 July 2023 and reported to Council on 30 August 2023. 3.3 As the external auditor of the Council, it is Mazar’s responsibility to undertake their audit work in accordance with International Standards on Auditing, the principles contained in the Code of Audit Practice issued by Audit Scotland in June 2021 and the ethical standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. 4. MAIN ISSUES 4.1 The audit of the 2022/23 accounts is substantially complete, however, the Annual Audit Report identifies that, at the time of preparing the report, some matters remain outstanding. Mazars has committed to providing an update in relation to the outstanding matters through issuance of a follow up letter. In addition, Mazars have noted that they expect to issue an unqualified opinion, and the draft opinion has been inserted into the Annual Accounts document. ITEM 11
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4.2 There has been a significant delay in the completion of the 2022/23 audit. Traditionally financial statements audit work would commence in early July but, for this audit, this was delayed until late September/early October. Mazars have outlined their reasons for the delay in the Annual Audit Report as: • Significant difficulties with Forvis Mazars recruiting auditors with relevant skills and experience. Whilst these have been resolved, the delay in recruitment significantly impacted on our ability to deliver the audit on a timely basis. • The need to undertake additional work in the first year of the audit to gain assurance over the opening balances in the financial statements and understand the Council. • The need to address the implementation of International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 315 Revised. This required the audit team to spend additional time on the audit. • Areas of the audit that required further attention upon commencement of the fieldwork phase due to complexity/ judgement. West Dunbartonshire Charities 4.3 The findings of the audit of West Dunbartonshire Charities are contained within the annual audit report for West Dunbartonshire Council. The letter is appended to this report (Appendix 1). The letter appends the letter of representation (ISA 580) which the Chief Officer - Resources is required to sign and submit to Mazars following the Council meeting. West Dunbartonshire Council 4.4 The findings of the audit are of West Dunbartonshire Council contained within the annual audit report for West Dunbartonshire Council which is appended to this report (Appendix 1). 4.5 The report identifies four recommendations for improvement for the Council and a further recommendation in relation to the Trust Funds. The report also details the Council’s management responses in relation to these recommendations and provides an update on the recommendations identified in the 2021/22 Annual Audit Report (two of which have been noted as ongoing for the Council, and one for the Trusts which is now closed). Any recommendations for improvement set out in the annual audit report are of reduced value as we have been unable to incorporate them into 2023/24 as the significant delays completing the audit have meant the recommendations have not been received until nine months into 2024/25 financial year. 4.6 The Audit Opinion is detailed on page 5 of the report which advises that Mazars expect to issue an unqualified opinion on the Council’s Annual Accounts and the Charities Annual Accounts
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5. PEOPLE IMPLICATIONS 5.1 There are no people implications in relation to this report. 6. FINANCIAL AND PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS 6.1 There are no financial and procurement implications in relation to this report. 7. RISK ANALYSIS 7.1 No risk analysis was required 8. EQUALITIES IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) 8.1 No equalities impact was required in relation to the production of this report. 9. CONSULTATION 9.1 The views of all Chief Officers have been requested on this report and feedback incorporated herein. 10. STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT 10.1 The report is in relation to a statutory function. As such, it does not directly affect any of the strategic priorities Laurence Slavin Chief Officer - Resources Date: 03 December 2024 Person to Contact: Laurence Slavin, Chief Officer - Resources E-mail: laurence.slavin@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices Appendix 1 – Proposed 2022/23 Annual Audit Report Background Papers Draft Annual Accounts 2022/23 to Council – 30 August 2023