Item 12 - 2023_24 Audited Financial Statements
West Dunbartonshire Council · 29 October 2025
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer - Resources Council: 29 October 2025 Subject: 2023/24 Audited Financial Statements 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide Members with the opportunity to scrutinise and approve the 2023/24 Audited Annual Accounts for the Council. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 Members are requested to: a. Note the audit is substantially complete and Forvis Mazars have advised they are expecting to issue an unqualified opinion on the Council’s 2023/24 Annual Accounts. b. Approve the information provided within the 2023/24 Audited Annual Accounts included as appendix 2 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 unaudited 2023/24 Annual Accounts (including the Group Accounts) were passed to the Accounts Commission on the 28 June 2024 and reported to Council on 28 August 2024. 3.3 The report submitted to Council on 28 August 2024 presented an unaudited unearmarked General Service reserve of £3.950m and provided Members with information as to variances for the year. The unaudited unearmarked position for the Housing Revenue Account reserve was £0.969m. 4. MAIN ISSUES 4.1 The audit of the 2023/24 accounts is substantially complete, however, the External Audit Report (considered as a separate agenda item at this Council meeting) outlines that, at the time of preparing this report, some minor matters for review remain outstanding. In addition, Mazars have noted they expect to issue an unqualified opinion, and the draft opinion has been inserted into the Annual Accounts included at appendix 2. West Dunbartonshire Council Annual Accounts 4.2 Assuming here are no further changes to the Accounts, the two main ITEM 12
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adjustments which impacted on the Council’s financial position were: Increase in a legal litigation cost provision based on updated information which came to light after the unaudited accounts were submitted to the Accounts Commission. This decreased the Council’s useable reserves by £0.400m. Adjustment to the opening balance of the General Fund and Financial Instrument Adjustment Account to correct the restructuring of market loans. This increased the Council’s overall usable reserves by £1.233m. In addition to presentational changes there were other adjustments which are summarised below. None of these had any impact on the Council’s financial position: Re-classification between short and long-term borrowing. Revaluation and depreciation adjustments to reflect changes to the opening balance position following the conclusion of the 2022/23 annual accounts audit after the draft 2023/24 financial statements were presented. Adjustment to gain/loss on disposal as the incorrect carrying value was used in the draft accounts. Amending the PPP and service concession adjustment as a result of a misstatement corrected during the 2022/23 audit. Update of the exit package note to ensure it reconciled to the ledger and information from Human Resources. Update of lease disclosures to remove reference to immaterial leases. 4.3 The movement on the balance sheet between the unaudited 2023/24 accounts and audited 2023/24 are: Unaudited £,000 Audited £,000 Change £,000 Long Term Assets 1,183,868 1,191,633 7,765 Current Assets 102,334 102,415 81 Current Liabilities (337,092) (384,925) (47,833) Long Term Liabilities (593,841) (545,483) 48,358 Total 355,269 363,640 8,371 4.4 The main variance was due to the adjustments to the revaluation and additional depreciation charge (£7.765m). This is an accounting transaction which only affects the Council’s unusable reserves, it does not change the actual cash available to the Council. 4.5 At the August 2025 Council meeting, Members were advised the audit of the 2022/23 accounts was still ongoing. As a result of agreed audit adjustments to the 2022/23 financial statements, after the submission of the unaudited 2023/24 accounts, there were movements to the opening balances relating mainly to the revaluation and indexation of property, plant and equipment which required adjustments to be made to the 2023/24 accounts.
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4.6 The overall general fund reserves increased by £2.307m from £14.442m to £16.749m predominantly due to the 2022/23 correction to PPP resulting in a £1.471m opening balance adjustment and a £1.232m adjustment due to the correction to the accounting of the re-profiling of borrowings in 2022/23, offset by the additional provision of £0.400m. There were no changes to the HRA reserve position as a consequence of the audit. This is summarised below. General Fund Reserves Unearmarked £,000 Earmarked £,000 Other £’000 Total (£,000) HRA £,000 Unaudited Accounts 3,950 9,115 407 13,472 969 Re-profiling of long-term debt 1,232 1,232 22/23 PPP audit adjustment 1,475 1,475 Increase in legal provision (400) (400) Audited Accounts 6,257 9,115 407 15,779 969 4.8 Mazars have issued a clean audit opinion in relation to the Council Accounts. 4.9 The management commentary on pages 1 to 17 of the Annual Accounts summarises the major matters contained within the document and provides an explanation of the Council’s financial position as at 31 March 2024. 4.10 The Annual Governance Statement on pages 19 to 23 of the accounts provides assurance that the Council has in place a sound system of governance control and identifies a number of areas where officers have identified improvements can be made. General 4.11 4.12 The 2023/24 audit process has continued to be challenging due to the timing of the audit work although it is acknowledged the timing of audit delivery, and levels of engagement with Mazars have improved when compared to the 2022/23 audit. However, they require further improvement. There are concerns about the proposed 2024/25 audit timetable with Mazars planning to commence the audit in January 2026 which is when the finance team will be under considerable pressure to prepare the 2026/27 budget due to the late settlement agreement date of 13 January 2026, after which the finance team will need to focus on the 2025/26 year end. We are engaging with Mazars on the planned timing of the 2024/25 audit with the intention being to submit a letter to the Controller of Audit setting out an agreed timetable for completion which both parties have committed to. The Council’s Chief Officer Resources will only sign up to a timetable which is realistic given conflicting pressures. As previously reported to Council the fact audit timescales are not what local
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government officers are historically accustomed to have, and continue to, impact on the Finance team, requiring officers who would typically shift focus to Council budget preparations from October onward, and year end thereafter, to juggle budget planning and annual accounts audits simultaneously. This strain is compounded by limited resources, making it challenging to respond to audit queries throughout the year while still meeting critical reporting deadlines. The pressure increases during peak periods such as budget setting and year-end, although the team has continued to address queries when capacity allows. Additionally, the 2024/25 year-end process has had to be completed before the 2023/24 audit was finalised meaning 2023/24 adjustments will need to be incorporated into the draft 2024/25 accounts, adding to an already substantial workload. 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: 22 October 2025 Person to Contact: Carol Alderson, Finance Manager Email: carol.alderson@west-dunbarton.gov.uk
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Appendices 1. Adjustments to 2023/24 West Dunbartonshire Council financial statements 2. Audited Annual Accounts 2023/24 – West Dunbartonshire Council Background Papers Draft Annual Accounts 2023/24 to Council – 28 August 2024