Further to minute 27 (18 September 2013), the Director of Resources reported that the Statement of Accounts (SOA) 2012/2013 had been published on 30 September 2013, the statutory deadline for publication, and included the Merseyside Pension Fund (MPF) accounts, as Wirral was the Administering Authority for the MPF. To conclude the process, he confirmed that, following the 18 September meeting, no further amendments were requested to be made by the Council’s external auditors, Grant Thornton. The final published SOA also incorporated the Annual Governance Statement and Action Plan (minute 24 (18 September 2013) refers).

He reported also that the Audit Opinion was issued on 30 September 2013, which stated that the financial statements gave a true and fair view of the financial position of the Council at 31 March 2013 and of its expenditure and income for the year and that they had been properly prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2012/2013. Grant Thornton had identified a number of concerns in their Audit Findings Report and he commented that if not addressed by the Council through the Action Plan then there were potential risks that the Council would not be able to meet its statutory requirements in respect of the Statement of Accounts. There were also concerns related to Value for Money and the Financial Resilience of the Council.

In response to a question from a Member in relation to recent news reports, the Director confirmed that the Council was not directly affected by matters associated with the Cooperative Bank, as it presently had neither loans nor investments.

Resolved –

(1)  That the Independent Auditors Report be noted.

(2)  That progress on delivering the actions identified in the Audit Findings Report Action Plan be reported to this Committee.