Issue - meetings

Report provided by Grant Thornton via the County Treasurer

RESOLVED that the audit plan for Devon County Council be approved.

The Committee considered the Report by Grant Thornton via the County Treasurer of the External Audit Plan for Devon County Council 2020/21. The Report provided an overview of the planned scope and timing of the statutory audit of Devon County Council.

Grant Thornton had determined planning materiality to be £17.2 million for the Council which equated to 1.5% of the Council’s gross expenditure in the prior year. The threshold below which uncorrected omissions or misstatements were considered ‘clearly trivial’ was set at £860,000.

Two areas of significant weakness were identified under the risk assessment of the Council’s Value for Money arrangements, namely the Council’s response to the January 2020 Ofsted inspection of Children’s Social Care Services, and the Council’s plans to reduce its SEND overspend. The audit was expected to commence in July 2021 with a total proposed fee of £126,916. This was an increase from an actual fee of £113,750 for 2019/20.

Members’ discussion points included:

·         the justification for the increase in audit fees for the 2020/21 financial year. It was explained that this was because the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) had made adjustments to expected auditing standards, that the external auditors had identified an increase in the complexity of financial transactions in Local Government which required greater audit scrutiny, and that the increase in audit fees was reasonable when the approximately £1.6 billion annual turnover of the Local Authority was considered. Members were also made aware that Government had made an additional £15 million of grant funding available to Local Authorities to cover additional auditing costs.

It was MOVED by Councillor Roome, SECONDED by Councillor Berry and

RESOLVED that the audit plan for Devon County Council be approved.