When you're able to look at and ask questions about our accounts
Inspection of accounts year ended 31 March 2024
Under Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, Regulations 14 & 15 and the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 we are required to publish our pre-audited draft accounts by 31 May 2024.
You can view this legislation below.
Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015
We are not yet able to publish our draft accounts for 2023/2024. This is due to ongoing operational and resourcing matters faced by the Council as a consequence of responding to significant delays in the audit of prior year accounts. Following the conclusion of the 2019/2020 Audit of Accounts in January 2024, there will be a delay in the publication of the draft Statement of Accounts for 2023/2024. The Department for Levelling-up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the National Audit Office (NAO) published a joint statement on 8 February 2024 containing proposals to clear the backlog of local audits.
A consultation was performed on the proposals which closed on 7 March 2024. The proposals have not been concluded at the time of publishing this notice. However, the Borough Council continues to work on the backlog in consultation with our external auditors (EY LLP). The work necessary to reflect the conclusion of the Statement of Accounts 2019/2020 in the balances for subsequent accounts through to 2022/2023 has resulted in pressure on the Council's resources to prepare a draft Statement of Accounts for 2023/2024 for the 31 May Deadline. This has impacted on the completion of the 2023/24 Accounts as these are reliant on the conclusion of the prior years for comparatives for the extensive disclosure required within the Accounts.
We are required to make the draft accounts and relevant supporting documentation available for inspection by the general public as set out in the amended regulations. Given that the draft accounts are not published on the due date of 31 May 2023, the statutory inspection period is also delayed. We will make available the accounts and supporting documentation from the first working day following the date of publication of those draft accounts. The draft accounts are expected to be published during July 2024.
Further notifications will be placed on the website once the 2023/24 Draft Statement of Accounts is available for public inspection.