To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 11 June 2014 (Minute Nos. 76 - 84) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 11 June 2014 (Minute Nos. 76 – 84) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for  themselves or their spouse, civil partner or person with whom they are living with as a spouse or civil partner.  They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

The Chairman will ask Members if they have any interests to declare in respect of items on this agenda, under the following headings:

(a)          Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) under the Localism Act 2011.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DPI, the Member must leave the meeting and not take part in the discussion or vote.  This applies even if there is provision for public speaking.

(b)          Disclosable Non Pecuniary (DNPI) under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in May 2012.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DNPI interest, the Member may stay, speak and vote on the matter.

Advice to Members:  If any Councillor has any doubt about the existence or nature of any DPI or DNPI which he/she may have in any item on this agenda, he/she should seek advice from the Director of Corporate Services as Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal or from other Solicitors in Legal Services as early as possible, and in advance of the Meeting.

No interests were declared.

The Head of Finance introduced the Council’s Annual Treasury Management report for 2013/14 , as required by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Code of Practice on Treasury Management.  He advised Members that the Council had average daily cash balances of £21m during the year, and provided assurance that investments were made in accordance with Prudential Indicators and the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy.

A Member drew attention to the investment income received and congratulated the Finance Team on their hard work.

Recommended:

(1)  That Council note the actual 2013/14 Prudential Indicators within the report.

(2)  That Council approve the Treasury Management stewardship report for 2013/14.

The Committee considered the report which sought approval of the Council’s Financial Statements for 2013/14 and included the external auditor’s Audit Findings Report.

The Head of Finance expressed his thanks to Mr Andy Mack (Engagement Lead, Grant Thornton) for the guidance and expertise he had demonstrated during his work with Swale Borough Council (SBC) over the past seven years.  He explained that this was Mr Mack’s last meeting at SBC due to the requirement to rotate auditors.  He also congratulated the Chief Accountant and Finance Team for the quality of the financial statements.

The Chief Accountant drew attention to the Movement in Reserves Statement, the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Account and the Balance Sheet.  He explained the changes to the business rates income and accounting of the Council’s pension liability.

Mr Trevor Greenlee (Manager, Grant Thornton) introduced the Audit Findings Report and drew attention to the Executive Summary.  He confirmed that they anticipated issuing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements and were proposing to give an unqualified Value for Money conclusion.  He advised that the financial statements required very few amendments and had been of a consistently high standard over the past few years.  He thanked the Chief Accountant and Finance Team, and welcomed the positive efforts being made to review the presentation of future accounts to make them more concise and easier to understand.  Mr Greenlee referred to the misclassification and disclosure changes and unadjusted misstatements, which he advised were not significant issues and had no impact on the bottom line.  He considered that the Council demonstrated strong performance in Value for Money but it should be recognised that it would be increasingly difficult to generate significant savings in future, with greater external financial pressures.  He advised that there was a slight reduction in the audit fee.

Mr Andy Mack (Engagement Lead, Grant Thornton) thanked the Committee and officers for their support; he had found the Council to be open, positive and co-operative and he had enjoyed his work with SBC.  He considered that the Audit Committee had provided an appropriate degree of challenge over the past seven years, and despite the challenging external environment, the Council had demonstrated solid governance and a sound financial framework moving forward.

The Committee thanked officers and the external auditors for the quality of the report.

Resolved:

(1)  That the external auditor’s Audit Findings Report be noted.

(2)  That the adjustments to the financial statements which are set out in the Audit Findings Report be noted.

(3)  That Management’s proposed treatment of the unadjusted misstatement which is set out in the Audit Findings Report be approved.

(4)  That the Management response to the Action Plan be approved.

(5)  That the Letter of Representation be approved on behalf of the Council.

(6)  That the Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2014 be approved.

The Committee gave a formal vote of thanks to Mr Andy Mack (Engagement Lead, Grant Thornton) and wished him well for the future.  They also thanked the Head of Finance, Chief Accountant and Finance Team for their hard work.

Resolved:

(1)  That the report be noted.