To receive the Statutory Statement of Accounts (pre-audit draft) for information
Decision:
To accept and note the Statement of the
Council’s Accounts (subject to audit) for 2020/21
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Finance took the opportunity to thank all staff
at the Finance Department for their commitment to ensure that the Council's
(draft) Accounts Statement had been submitted to Audit
Wales, namely the external auditors, before the statutory date (31 May 2021).
The Head of the Finance Department reiterated his gratitude to the staff for
completing the work while responding to a new challenging statutory timetable
amidst the Covid-19 crisis. The IT Service was also thanked
for enabling working from home developments. He noted that he had already
certified the draft accounts and that it would be good practice to share the
accounts with Members to give them an opportunity to question / make
observations. The final accounts would be submitted to
the Committee for approval on 14/10/21.
In terms of the Main Statements and Notes, it was
explained that the Statement had been completed in CIPFA standard form.
It appeared clumsy and technically complex and it was
highlighted that the pension figures tended to skew the figures.
Reference was made to information in Note 38 in order
to better understand the situation. The Head of Finance noted that he, along
with other Treasurers across the UK, were holding discussions with CIPFA to try
to persuade them to abolish the pension figures, which led to a misapprehension
of some aspects in the Statement.
The Senior Finance Manager added that six sets of accounts had been completed but it was not possible for them to be
audited and approved until the autumn term, as there was a need to ensure that
public rights were implemented. Reference was made to
the Narrative Report that provided information about the Accounts and on the
vision and priorities of Gwynedd, the Financial Strategy and the financial
performance measures. Members were guided through the
report and details were provided on some elements:
·
Movement in Reserves Statement (page 22 of the
agenda), which summarised the Council's financial position for 2020/21 -
attention was drawn to the additional information columns:
-
column 1: the Council's general balances had
increased by £1.8 million during the year, £7.5 million at the end of March
2020 to £9.4 million by the end of March 2021
-
column 2: referred to an increase of £20 million
during the year in reserves, £59 million at the end of March 2020 to £79
million by the end of March 2021
-
column 3 - School balances - an increase of £6.4 million from £4.3 million at
the end of March 2020 to £10.8 million by the end of March 2021.
It was
highlighted that the main reasons for the increase was the receipt of
various substantial grants.
·
New arrangements for this year, jointly with other
Councils, related to Covid (page 94), including the
Test, Trace and Protect Programme.
Members were reminded that the (draft) accounts
were subject to an Audit and a report from the External Auditors (Audit Wales),
along with final accounts, would be submitted to the Committee for approval on
14/10/21.
Gratitude was
expressed for the report.
In response to a question regarding the
receipt of grants towards specific purposes, which had resulted in a changed
position, the Head of Finance Department noted that some of the grants were for a specific
purpose but that many grants did not have a specific purpose and, as a result,
had been put aside in the Council's Transformation Fund and the Covid Recovery Fund. There would be an opportunity, in
accordance with the usual procedure, to submit applications for the funding.
RESOLVED
To accept and note the Statement of the Council’s Accounts (subject to
audit) for 2020 / 21
Supporting documents: