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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
1.1 Apologies were received from Councillor Davies & Councillor Byrne.
2.1 The following declarations were made: · Councillor Stuart Ashley declared a personal interest as he was in receipt of a pension from the Greater Gwent Pension Fund. · Councillor Peter Jones declared a personal interest as his wife was in receipt of a pension from the Greater Gwent Pension Fund. · Mrs. Pegington declared a personal interest as her husband was in receipt of a pension from the Greater Gwent Pension Fund. · Mr. Kelleher declared a personal interest as he was in receipt of a pension from the Greater Gwent Pension Fund. · Mr. Rees declared a personal interest as he was in receipt of a pension from · Councillor Williams declared a personal interest as himself and his wife was in receipt of a pension from the Greater Gwent Pension fund.
3.1 Alice King outlined the report and provided an update on the Audit of Accounts 2023/2024. 3.2 The proposed audit opinion was unqualified. There had been issues identified in respect of some audit evidence but there was work being undertaken to improve this for the following cycle. The full details of any uncorrected and corrected misstatements could be seen on page 12 and page 13 of the report. 3.3 Following questions from the Committee, the Head of Financial Services and Audit Wales made the following points: • The issues identified were either addressed during the audit window or would be easily resolved the following year. • The issue identified in respect of incorrect pension contributions was due to an error with the pension rate used for accounting purposes and was not an error in payments actually made. The report would be updated to show that this was not an error in what was charged. • Any delays surrounding information did not impact the fees that Torfaen County Borough Council were charged. • Torfaen County Borough Council will be one of the first Local Authorities to complete their audit. • This was the second year of a new auditing standard and the first year a new system was used for the exchange on information between Torfaen County Borough Council and Audit Wales which added extra complexities. There would be a debrief held with Audit Wales to ensure any issues were resolved by the next cycle. 3.4 The Governance and Audit Committee gave thanks to the Officers and Audit Wales for their hard work on the 2023/2024 audit.
4.1 The Head of Financial Services outlined the report and gave an update on the Torfaen County Borough Council’s Statement of Accounts for 2023/24. 4.2 The Head of Financial Services gave thanks to the Group Finance Officer and her team for their hard work. The Committee were given assurance that officers had a good understanding of the issues that had been raised this year and will undertake the necessary work to prevent these issues arising next year. 4.3 The uncorrected misstatements were acknowledged to not be material and were in areas that were particularly complex to adjust, given the fact that they weren’t material. It would be ensured this was reflected correctly within the report. There had been robust processes put in place to improve on misstatements in future. 4.4 The Deputy Chief Executive stated that this was the last set of accounts that he would sign prior to his retirement in January. There were many thanks given to all officers, Audit Wales and the Governance and Audit Committee for all their hard work over the years and the working relationship between all was commended. 4.5 The Committee showed their gratitude to the Deputy Chief Executive for all of his work and support over his time in Torfaen County Borough Council. 4.6 The Governance & Audit Committee: a) Noted the position in respect of the 2023/24 external audit process. b) Reviewed the Council’s Statement of Accounts. c) Noted the requirement for the Chair of the Governance & Audit Committee to sign, alongside the Chief Financial Officer, the Council’s Letter of Representation.
14.1 The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 30th January 2025
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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