Issue - meetings

Report from Mazars is attached.

Alistair Newall, Audit Director, Mazars will present the report.

Alastair Newall, Senior Manager at Forvis Mazars the Council’s external auditors presented the External Auditors Audit Progress Report year ending 31 March 2025.

Alastair reported that the final remaining responsibility in respect of the 2023/24 audit relates to the Council’s whole of government accounts (WGA) return.

Forvis Mazars had submitted the National Audit Office’s (NAO) assurance statement in February 2025 as required by their Group Audit Instructions. However, the NAO’s instructions state they may request further work from auditors on local authorities WGA returns as they complete their work. Until the NAO confirms no further work is required, it cannot be confirmed that all of the audit work is complete. It was explained that consequently, Forvis Mazars have not yet issued the Audit Certificate concluding the 2023/24 audit. As soon as the NAO confirm no further work is required, or any work they require is complete the certificate will be issued.

The report gave an update on that latest NAO guidance and the NAO has prepared Local Audit Reset and Recovery Implementation Guidance (LARRIG) 06 with the endorsement of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The NAO issued its suite of LARRIGs to support auditors.

To meet the backstop requirements, Mazars issued a disclaimed audit opinion on the Council’s 2023/24 statement of accounts. As part of the audit of the 2024/25 audit, Mazars will consider LARRIG 06 in determining how and when they rebuild assurance.

The LARRIG makes clear the work required to rebuild assurance following a disclaimer of opinion(s) may be significant and will vary between authorities. In part, this is because rebuilding assurance on opening balances is complicated by the different reserves and balances held, their link to income and expenditure and the application of statutory overrides.

The LARRIG emphasises the timely delivery of audited financial statements is a collective enterprise where both accounts preparers and auditors have important responsibilities. Effective governance and internal controls, allied to accurate and timely financial reporting, are essential conditions to support a return to the timely delivery of unqualified audited financial statements

Risk assessment

The guidance requires auditors to consider the facts and circumstances impacting the Council’s statement of accounts and the different classes of transactions, account balances and disclosures, and to apply professional judgement in determining the appropriate level of audit work to recover assurance, taking account of the reasons why previous financial years were disclaimed. Disclaimed periods of more than one year present a greater risk of material misstatement.

The guidance places an emphasis on the risk assessment procedures auditors should undertake. This means we will conduct a comprehensive risk assessment covering:

• the Council’s system of internal control for the periods subject to disclaimed audit opinions

• the areas of the accounts where there is a risk of material misstatement and the associated planned responses and

• undertake special considerations for specified matters:

a. property, plant and equipment,

b. responses to identified risks of fraudulent financial reporting in previous reporting periods subject to disclaimers of opinion, and

c. pensions related  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86