Issue - meetings

This report sets out the changes that have been made to the Statement of Accounts approved at Council on 2 June 2006 and the reasons for these changes, and seeks approval for the revised Statement of Accounts.

Members received a report which set out the changes that had been made to the Statement of Accounts approved at Council on 2 June 2006 and the reasons for these changes, and sought approval for the revised Statement of Accounts.

The report was being considered at an Urgency Committee because there was a statutory requirement for Members to approve the accounts prior to the District Auditor giving his opinion on them and there was not a Council meeting scheduled prior to the statutory deadline for the completion of this audit on 30 September 2006.

The report explained that in July 2005 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) had issued a notification that the proportion of total value of the housing stock that must be included within fixed assets in the Accounts as the ‘social housing’ value should be reduced from 55% to 47% of the gross value, with effect from April 2005.  Since the Accounts were approved it had been confirmed that this adjustment should have been made retrospectively to the full Housing Revenue Account (HRA) re-valuation exercise that had taken place between January and April 2005 using the then approved rate of 55%.  The implications of making this adjustment were to reduce the value of the assets in the balance sheet by £61m, with consequential amendments to the Fixed Asset Restatement Account and the Capital Financing Account in the Total Equity on the Balance Sheet, as well as alterations to the Consolidated Revenue Account, the Housing Revenue Account, the Statement of Movement on Reserves and the Foreword.  Paragraph 8 of the report detailed a failsafe procedure which had been put in place to prevent a repeat of this incident occurring.

Paragraphs 9-11 of the report outlined a number of other more minor changes to the Accounts and a full list of amendments was attached as Annex 1.  Full copies of the draft revised Accounts had been circulated to Members.

RESOLVED:(i) That the amendments set out in Annex 1 of the report be agreed and the revised Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2005/06 be approved;

(ii)         That the Chair of the Committee be authorised to sign and date page five of the Accounts as a formal record that Members have approved them.

REASON:(i) The revised Accounts have to be formally approved by members before the District Auditor can give his opinion on them;

                        (ii) The Accounts must be signed and dated at their formal approval by the Chair of the meeting.