Contact: Paul Carey-Kent, Deputy Treasurer, 01962 847525;

[email protected]

1 Introduction

1.1 The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 require the Statement of Accounts for 2005/06 to be approved by the Authority by 30 June 2006, before an audit opinion will be given.

1.2 The draft Statement is attached as the appendix, for approval. It is consistent with the figures in the Final Accounts 2005/06 report also on this agenda.

1 Statement of Accounts 2005/06

1.1 The form of the Statement is prescribed by a Code of Practice which constitutes proper accounting practice as required by Section 21 of the Local Government Act 2003, the code is updated each year to take account of the changes in accounting standards.

1.2 The Accounts include the Statement of Internal Control which requires the formal approval of the Governance Committee, which is due to meet on 22 June. Should any changes made at that meeting the necessary update will be circulated at the meeting.

1.3 There are no significant changes to the accounts for 2005/06.

1.4 Due to the UK adoption of international auditing standards, the process for external audit reporting will change this year. A report will be submitted to the Authority in September, prior to the auditor issuing an opinion on the accounts and their publication. Previously, should any matters arising have required it, a report would have been raised simultaneously to the audit opinion or would that been incorporated subsequently in the management letter.

1.5 After final editing and the external audit certificate has been obtained the Statement will be published and copies of the document will be sent to Members.

2 Equality impact assessment

2.1 An impact assessment has been made on the proposals in the paper and shown that they are not discriminatory. They are considered compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Race Relations (Amendment Act 2000).

Recommendations

1 That the Draft Statement of Accounts 2005/06 attached as the appendix be approved.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

HFRA Statement of Accounts 2005/06