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Issue - meetings

2023/24 Draft Accounting Policies

Meeting: 25/04/2024 - Audit and Governance Committee (Item 269)

269 Statement of Accounting Policies 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 89 KB

Summary/Purpose

This report presents the accounting policies to be included in the 2023/24 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 2023/24. Approving the accounting policies in advance of the preparation of the accounts represents best practice.

 

Recommendations

That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to:

1.    Approve the draft accounting policies for 2023/24 included at Annex A;

2.    Note that further 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 2023/24 Statement of Accounts.

 

The Chair introduced the item, explaining that there was only one significant change from the previous policy, which was to remove reference to infrastructure assets. However, the Chair felt that this was unclear and asked that any amendments to the policies are clearly highlighted in Annex going forward.

 

The Chief Accountant stated that this was a historic reference to assets such as highways and bridges, which the Council did not own and were generally assets under the responsibility of the County Council.

 

In discussing the report, it was stated that some assets of this type might still be owned by the Council, for instance grass verges. The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance stated that the Cabinet would be considering an Asset Management Strategy at its meeting on Thursday 9 May, which would contain a full list of assets. The Deputy Chief Executive stated that verges were not considered to be significant infrastructure assets and were classified as surplus assets within the Council’s fixed asset register

 

RESOLVED: That the Audit and Governance Committee:

1.    1. APPROVED the draft accounting policies for 2023/24 included at Annex A;

2.    2. NOTED that further 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.

 

Voting record

 

For 6, Against 0, Abstentions 0, Absent/Did not vote 1