Decision details

Ian Pinches, Senior Audit Manager at Grant Thornton UK presented the Audit Progress Report and Sector Update as of March 2025.

It was highlighted that the council's statement of accounts for 2023/24 had been signed off in February 2025 and the Audit Findings Report for 2024/25 would be finalised by November 2025.

In response to questions, members were informed that:

·  Grant Thornton had qualified teams with sufficient capacity to meet the deadline for the Audit Findings Report of November 2025.

·  More information about Grant Thornton's training sessions and webinars, once available, would be provided to members after the meeting.

·  In relation to potential Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Lancashire, it was likely the current authorities' balance sheets would be split between any newly formed authorities. This process would bring challenges as both assets and liabilities were distributed. The county council would be submitting a proposal to government for LGR by November 2025 and balance sheets would be one of the factors considered. The role of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee in the LGR process was to be determined, but it was highlighted there was lots of recent practice and learning from other authorities to take on board.

Resolved: That the External Audit: Progress Report and Sector Update be noted.