Agenda item

P Cuttle took the report as read, noting that the length was due to the requirements of auditing standards, and highlighting on page 149 a reference to some items outstanding due to timing issues, with the majority of those now cleared, excepting some queries on the housing benefit expenditure. The letter of assurance from the county council auditor was identified as the most significant point, which would dictate whether the accounts could be signed, however P Cuttle stated that from his perspective the audit was complete, and the set of accounts up for approval was not expected to change. P Cuttle noted that there had been no recommendations raised in terms of control findings or weaknesses, and a single page of audit adjustments with only one disclosure item, which was indicative of a good standard of evidence and response to audit queries.

The Chair congratulated the finance team for all their hard work, and Cllr Symington added congratulations to Grant Thornton for completing the audit on time. N Howcutt also gave specific thanks to L Schultz and her team for their hard work.

Cllr Birnie referred to page 162 and queried whether there was not also a matter of value for money that also had not been dealt with. P Cuttle explained that value for money was decoupled from the audit opinion, so commentary would be provided on value for money arrangements, but to a deadline three months after the signing of the audit opinion. Cllr Birnie wondered if clarification on the item could be provided. N Howcutt suggested that the VFM audit was to provide the wider public with independent scrutiny on the expenditure of money, noting that for the 2021-22 accounts it had taken longer than usual and had only been finally approved a few months ago, with development of the audit likely going forward. P Cuttle confirmed that the scope was prescribed by the National Audit Office, and that it was relatively narrow, so was probably most useful around financial sustainability.

The Chair noted that Ernst and Young's evaluation of the Herts County Council pension fund arrangements was outstanding, which could have a bearing on the accounts. Cllr Birnie highlighted that in his experience with CAD (Community Action Dacorum) it had been at least ten years and Herts County Council was still to provide a similar letter regarding one person who had transferred. N Howcutt acknowledged that the Herts pension fund administration was not performing strongly, but noted that they were also aware of the issue and were in the process of making changes and setting up a feedback group to try and improve performance going forward. P Cuttle warned that, to his knowledge, all other Herts audits were on 2021-22, with substantial, if not full, completion of the 2022-23 audit required to enable them to issue the letter, adding that it could take weeks or months and that they wouldn't issue a provisional letter due to the related risks.

The committee agreed to approve the letter of representation at Appendix B of the report, approve the statement of accounts for 2022/2023, and delegate to the Chair of the Audit Committee to sign the final accounts upon receiving the final audit opinion.