Issue - meetings

The Committee will receive a verbal update on the Statement of Accounts from representatives of the Council’s External Auditor, Binder Dijker Otte (BDO).

Officers, referring to the two previous agenda items - Update on Audit of the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts and Update on the Audit of the 2020/21 Statement of Accounts and Pension Fund and Progress on the 2021/22 Council's Accounts, explained that it had been anticipated that representatives from BDO, the Council’s external auditor who had been invited to attend the meeting had been unable to do so due to sickness.

The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, that the representatives from BDO be invited to attend the next scheduled meeting on 27 July 2022.

In response to concerns raised regarding how the delays in the work programme for closing 2021/22 due to key staff changes in the Finance Team, delays in receiving some of the asset valuations and work required for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 audits, would be resolved, officers reassured Members that there had been a review of the allocation of resources, and improvements had been made.  The team remained on course to have the draft accounts available by the deadline.

AGREED that the BDO (External Auditor) update on Statement of Accounts received from Enfield officers be noted.

The Committee is asked to receive the report which provides an update on the audit of the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts.

The Committee received the report which provided an update on the audit of the 2019/20 statement of accounts. 

Officers confirmed that out of 450 Local Authorities across the country, 51 had not had their 2019/20 accounts signed off.  All avenues to progress the matter were being explored and pursued expeditiously.  The Executive Director, Resources suggested one such action would be a complaint be escalated to BDO parent company and investors.  It was not possible or feasible to walk away from the contract

Members reiterated their disappointment and expectation that a representative from BDO should have made themselves available, either in person or remotely, to provide an explanation of the delays relating to the area for which they were responsible and a timeline when the 2019/20 accounts could be expected to be ready to be signed off.  Members stated they shared the officer’s frustration

The Committee noted that the situation regarding the sector wide issue relating to the accounting for infrastructure assets had progressed. The CIPFA LASAAC consultation on proposals to deal with the issues in the short and longer term, upon which Councils were asked to comment closed on 14 June 2022 with the outcome of the consultation was expected to be the end of June 2022.   The 2019/20 accounts could not be signed off until the outcome of the consultation had been published and recommended actions had been considered.  However, the accounts could be in a position that they were ready to be signed off as soon as the outcome had been published, subject to any necessary changes as a result.  There was much which rested with BDO directly in order to finalise the accounts.

The Chair, with the agreement of the Committee, announced that any further discussion of the above item would take place in the confidential part of the meeting.  

AGREED that the update provided on the audit of the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts be noted.