Council accounts audit “best in five years”
Friday, October 27 2006
Scottish Borders Council’s accounts have received probably their best audit report in five years, councillors heard today.
The audit report commented on the high standard of the Council’s financial statements and the positive work of its Audit Committee, which auditors described as an example of good practice for Scottish Local Authorities. The audit also highlighted improvements in SBC’s financial management and corporate governance.
A meeting of the full Council at Newtown St Boswells was told in a report from the SBC Director of Corporate Resources today that Independent auditors Scott-Moncrieff have given SBC’s 2005/6 Statement of Accounts an unqualified Independent Audit Report, with no priority recommendations.
Among its findings, the audit report contained a number of very positive statements, commenting that:
- the quality of SBC’s financial statements is of a high standard and a demonstration of the Council’s commitment consistently to improve the disclosure of financial and accounting information to stakeholders;
- the Council has made significant progress [in financial reporting and financial management] over the course of Scott-Moncrieff’s five-year appointment.
The auditors also commented on improvements in SBC’s management of the capital programme over previous years and the effective overall operation of SBC’s accounting systems and internal financial controls.
SBC Joint Finance Spokesman, Councillor Douglas Younger, said, “This report by the Director of Corporate Resources confirms that the finances of the Council are currently in good order. It also confirms through the accompanying auditors’ report that the Council’s financial management and corporate governance arrangements and its performance management framework are sound, and present a picture of continuing improvement and progress.”
“The external auditors’ report which accompanies the audit is probably the best since Scott-Moncrieff became the Council’s external auditors.”
Net operating expenditure ended up within 0.1% of the revised budget.
“This tiny variance is the smallest that Scottish Borders Council has ever recorded and shows that sound and careful budgetary control is being exercised across Council departments by our finance officers and by members of the Administration,” Councillor Younger said.
He added, “This Administration has been criticised in recent years for the level at which it has maintained Council reserves. However, the fact that effective, non-earmarked reserves are now at the lower end of the Council’s medium-term financial targets shows that we were right to manage them in anticipation of the demands of single status and equal pay and taking into account the scope of the Council’s ambitious capital expenditure programme.” [more]
However, Councillor Younger warned that, “although the accounts and the auditors’ report present a sound and reassuring picture, none of us can afford to be complacent or under any illusions about the size of the task the Council faces now and in the future, such as an ambitious capital programme and the Scottish Executive’s 2004 Efficient Government Initiative which requires £1bn of cash releasing or time savings from the public sector by 2007/8.”
The audited accounts are now available to the public at SBC Council Centres, Libraries, Council Headquarters and on the SBC website.
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