Decision details

A report was presented on the overall findings of the external auditor in relation to the audit of the annual accounts of Lancashire County Council, their proposed opinion on those accounts, and conclusion on the council's value for money arrangements.

In commenting on the county council's accounts, Karen Murray, external auditor, informed the committee that the draft accounts were, overall, prepared to a good standard. However, a number of misstatements and misclassifications had been identified within the accounts and these had been discussed with the County Treasurer and members of her team and the accounts amended.

The report also included the value for money conclusion. The opinion given in the report confirmed that the council did not have proper arrangements in place to secure value for money. This took account of the balance between those areas where the council's arrangements were demonstrably strong, and those areas of corporate and financial governance where the council had recently identified a number of fundamental weaknesses in its arrangements.  It was acknowledged that the issues had emerged during the year but that they related to arrangements, decisions and actions taken in previous years.

The committee also noted that the external auditor was unable to formally conclude the audit and issue an audit certificate until they had completed their consideration of matters brought to their attention by the Council in 2013. However they were satisfied that these matters did not have a material effect on the financial statements or a significant impact on their value for money conclusion.

Resolved:  That:

i)  The external audit findings report covering the audit of the County Council for year ended 31 March 2014 be noted.

ii)  The adjustments to the financial statements and other issues raised by the external auditor as set out in the report presented, be noted.