Agenda item

To consider the auditor’s report, approve the Statement of Accounts and authorise the Chair and Head of Finance to certify the letter.

DECISION:

·         To accept and note the ISA 260 report by Audit Wales

·         To approve the Gwynedd Pension Fund’s post-audit Statement of Accounts for 2022/23

·         To authorise the Chair and Head of Finance to certify the Letter of Representation (electronically)

Yvonne Thomas (Audit Wales) was welcomed to the meeting.

Submitted - a report and a Statement of Accounts for the Gwynedd Pension Fund 2022/23 (post audit), by the Investment Manager providing details of the Pension Fund's financial activities for the year ending 31st March 2023. Members were reminded that a draft of the accounts had been submitted to the meeting held on 26 June 2023 and although there were no significant changes following the audit carried out by Audit Wales, there was an amendment to Note 13: Income Investment breakdown, although there was no change to the total. It was added that Note 23 - Related Party Transactions - governance membership of the Committee and the Pension Board needed updating prior to its final publication.

Yvonne Thomas (Audit Wales) was invited to submit the 'ISA260' report. It was reported that the auditors intended to issue an unqualified audit opinion on the accounts this year, once the Letter of Representation had been signed. It was explained that the auditors could never provide complete assurance that the accounts had been accurately stated, but rather that they worked to a level of ‘relevance.’ A materiality level of £27.6635 million had been set for this year's audit, in an attempt to identify and rectify misstatements that might otherwise cause a user of the accounts to be misled. Reference was made again to the misstatement in the original accounts (Note 13 Investment Income) and it was confirmed that this had now been corrected by managers.

Attention was drawn to the following headings:

·        Propose a recommendation that the Gwynedd Pension Fund should run and save the report on membership details as recorded in the Altair system to support the figures reported in the accounts. It was noted that the Managers accepted the recommendation and had noted an intention to provide a report supporting the membership numbers in future financial statements – with the report 'saved' on the day as evidence.

·        The submitted information was of high quality and was extremely positive - a good reflection of the effective arrangements in the Finance Department.

·        Officers were thanked for completing the accounts in a tight timescale.

The Auditors were thanked for their cooperation and thorough work. Appreciation was expressed for the commitment and the accuracy of the work, and the Investment Manager and the team were thanked for preparing the accounts.

During the ensuing discussion, the following observation was noted:

·        The report was encouraging and positive - and provided confidence that things were going well and the result of the audit highlighted the officers' good work.

Thanks were expressed for the report.

RESOLVED

·        To accept and note the 'ISA 260’ report by Audit Wales

·        To approve Gwynedd Pension Fund’s post-audit Statement of Accounts for 2022/23

·        To authorise the Chair and Head of Finance to certify the Letter of Representation, electronically.