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Issue - meetings

Statement of Accounts - 2024/25 - Update and Accounting Policies

 

 

Meeting: 26/06/2025 - Audit and Governance Committee (Item 71)

71 Statement of Accounts - 2024/25 - Update and Accounting Policies pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Purpose:

This report presents the accounting policies to be included in the 2024/25 Statement of Accounts. This provides Members with the opportunity to review and approve the policies in advance of the preparation of the Statement of Accounts 2024/25. Approving the accounting policies in advance of the preparation of the accounts represents best practice.

 

Recommendation(s): 

That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to:

1.         Approve the draft accounting policies for 2024/25 included at Annex A;

2.         Note the necessary amendments to the policies set out at Annex A (occurring subsequent to this meeting) are included within the draft (unaudited) and/or final (audited) Statement of Accounts when presented to this Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to present the accounting policies to be included in the 2024/25 Statement of Accounts. This provided Members with the opportunity to review and approve the policies in advance of the preparation of the Statement of Accounts 2024/25. Approving the accounting policies in advance of the preparation of the accounts represented best practice.

 

Georgina Dyer, Chief Accountant, introduced the report and highlighted the following key points:

 

  • The Accounting Policies were presented to the Committee annually in advance of the policies being used in production of the Statements of Accounts.
  • The Statements of Accounts were due for publication on 30 June 2025.
  • There were no big changes to the policies, however the Officer drew the Committee’s focus to the following three changes:
    • The TUPE staff accumulated absence reserve, which was an accrual for the cost of annual leave earned by TUPE employees but not taken prior to year-end. This would be reviewed each year.
    • The UBS Pool Fund capital loss that was realised due to the fund being closed. This now needed to be recognised in the accounts and was funded through an earmarked reserve leading to no net impact on revenue budget or 24/25 outturn position.
    • IFRS16 required leases to be treated in a new way, this was explained fully in the report.

 

In the discussion the Committee noted:

 

  • The TUPE staff accumulated absence reserve was a notional amount based on the monetary value of the accumulated staff holiday of those returning to the Council.
  • The position with the regard to the UBS pooled fund closure and subsequent capital loss and its accounting treatment was clarified for the Committee. UBS had given notice of the closure of the fund in September, a capital loss was realised as a result and had to be recognised in the accounts, this was outside of the Council’s control.
  • Heritage Assets were public artworks.

 

Councillor Carl Rylett proposed approving the recommendations as set out in the report. This proposal was seconded by Councillor Alex Wilson, was put to the vote and agreed by the Committee.

 

Resolved:

That the Audit and Governance Committee:

1.    Approved the draft accounting policies for 2024/25 included at Annex A;

2.    Noted the necessary amendments to the policies set out at Annex A (occurring subsequent to this meeting) are included within the draft (unaudited) and/or final (audited) Statement of Accounts when presented to this Committee.

 

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