Rother District Council
Statement of Accounts 2022/23
Pursuant to the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (as amended), notice is hereby given that:
The Rother District Council’s accounts are subject to external audit by Grant Thornton UK LLP, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY. Members of the public and local government electors have certain rights in the audit process:
- From Monday 14th August 2023 until Tuesday 26th September 2023 between 10 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday, any person may inspect the unaudited accounts of Rother District Council for the year ended 31st March 2023 and certain related documents (comprising books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts) by contacting the finance team through the following email address: finance-accountancy@rother.gov.uk. Documents will be made available electronically for inspection. Should a person not be able to access documents electronically, provision will be made for inspection at the Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea by prior arrangement. They may also receive copies of the accounts and documents, although multiple copies will be charged for and an appointment may be required. The unaudited statement of accounts for 2022/23 is available to view at Budgets and accounts. The accounts are subject to change pending the outcome of the review by the appointed auditor.
- From 10 am on Monday 14th August 2023 until Tuesday 26th September 2023, a local government elector for the area of Rother District Council, or his/her representative, may ask the auditor questions about the accounts. Please contact the auditor at the address given above to make arrangements to ask any questions.
- From 10 am on Monday 14th August 2023 until Tuesday 26th September 2023, a local government elector for the area of Rother District Council, or his/her representative, may object to Rother District Council’s accounts asking that the auditor issue a report in the public interest or apply for a declaration that an item in the accounts is contrary to law. Written notice of a proposed objection and the grounds on which it is made must be sent to the auditor at the address given above and copied to me at the address given below.
Duncan Ellis
Interim Chief Finance Officer (S151 Officer)
28th July 2023
Statement of Accounts 2021/22
NOTICE OF LATE PUBLICATION OF AUDITED ACCOUNTS
Under regulations 10 of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (as amended), the Council was required to publish the audited Statement of Accounts on or before 30th November.
The Council has been unable to meet this requirement due to a national issue on pension valuations which has held up the sign-off of the accounts by the Council’s external auditors.
The audited Statement of Accounts will be published as soon as they have been signed off by the external auditors.
Duncan Ellis
Interim Chief Finance Officer (S151 Officer)
24 May 2023
Draft Audited Statement of Accounts 2021-2022
After the end of each financial year, the Council has to publish a formal set of accounts. This includes:
- a narrative report
- a statement of its income and expenditure for the year
- a statement showing the value of its assets at the end of the year
- a statement showing the movement in its cash balances
The Statement of Accounts have been compiled in accordance with the Local Authority Accounting Code of Practice 2021-2022. The Statement of Accounts are subject to independent audit by an auditor appointed by Public Sector Appointments Limited.
The draft Statement of Accounts which includes the draft Annual Governance Statement is subject to audit, and is available to view or download at the below link:
Each year the Council’s Statement of Accounts are audited and any interested persons and journalists, under section 26 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/2/contents), may:
a) inspect the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records; and
b) make copies of all or any part of those records or documents.
Note that section 26 contains prohibitions on inspecting any part of a record or document containing information that is protected on the grounds of commercial confidentiality or that contains personal information.
The Government has issued amended Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021 No 263)), which included an extension to the accounts preparation timescales. The link to the legislation is below:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/263/introduction/made
The budget book shows the Council’s revenue and capital budgets, analysed over each of the Council’s main aims. To enable comparisons to be made, information is provided for previous years. The budget book also provides information on the calculation of the Council Tax and a summary of the charges for each parish or town in the District. Finally there is a statement of the Council’s reserves and a glossary of terms.
