External Auditor Report and Certificate
On the basis of our review of Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR), in our opinion the information in Sections 1 and 2 of the AGAR is in accordance with Proper Practices and no other matters have come to our attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met.
Other matters not affecting our opinion which we draw to the attention of the authority: The smaller authority has confirmed that it has not complied with the governance assertions 1,2,4,6 and 7 in Section 1 and has provided the appointed auditor with explanations for non-compliance. It is to be noted that the smaller authority’s ‘No’ response to assertion 6 suggests there has not been an effective internal audit function in the year; however, we have seen detailed reports prepared by the internal auditor that are consistent with the responses given in Section 1 and include recommendations for improvement. The internal auditor drew attention to significant weaknesses in relation to budget planning, Public rights provisions, delegation of functions to a single member of its committee, Fixed asset valuations, the reclaiming of VAT and the supporting documentation for expense claims. The smaller authority has provided evidence of the issues raised by the internal auditor being discussed at full council and details of the intended action to be taken to address the issues.
