-
Issue - meetings
Final Accounts 2017/18 – Draft
Meeting: 31/07/2018 - Audit Committee (Item 26)
26 Final Accounts 2017/18 PDF 146 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer), presented his report for the Audit Committee to approve the Statement of Accounts (2017-18) on behalf of the Council in accordance with the Accounts & Audit Regulations 2015.
The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer), said the audit had been completed significantly early, by 31st of July, instead of 30th of September to meet the revised statutory deadlines. He was pleased to confirm the report had achieved an unmodified opinion.
Councillor Levane raised the importance of the ‘implications’ listed in the report template. She said there are clear implications in terms of cohesion/human rights and asked why this was not addressed in the report? The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer), explained this is a factual report which focuses on the variants/overspent/underspent and influences on the impact of the finances. If the public want to look at this, then the case has to be clear and concise enough.
Councillor Levane sought clarification on the investments in the pension fund. She asked whom does Hastings BC invest in local authorities? The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer), said the pension fund is managed by East Sussex County Council, we have no say other than representation by District/Borough Councils. They have ethical investments which are constantly under review. We invest with banks and other local authorities and property funds. Banks and industries licensed as authorised institutions. (Refer to Treasury Management Policy – end year review and mid-year review).
Councillor Levane said Local Authorities could improve on reporting what they set out to achieve. Mr Lloyd-Thomas, BDO Partner, agreed, he said Local Authorities are behind. CIPFA have moved to full-blown annual reporting, but it is not a requirement at the moment for Local Authorities.
Councillor Levane asked for an explanation on investments with local authorities. The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer), explained that these are short-term cash funds. Local Authorities are not credit rated but are considered safe. They use it to balance the books. Councillor Levane asked for an explanation on how it works: we lend to other local authorities and they pay principal and interest. The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer) agreed this was correct.
Councillor Chowney added that Hastings BC loan Leeds Council money. It is a better rate of return than borrowing from a bank. The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer), explained that you can only borrow money for capital. This is our own reserves we lend out. We can lend for temporary purposes for up to several years. Councillor Chowney asked why does it have to be capital, is it cheaper than borrowing from PWLB. The Assistant Director, Financial Services and Revenues (Chief Finance Officer), said it may not be cheaper. We lend on short-term interest. It can be for short-term cash flow issues, they may have invested too much on revenue purposes.
Councillor Levane said ... view the full minutes text for item 26
-
My council
Contact
Got a question about democratic services?
Content
The content on this page is the responsibility of our Democratic Services team.