Financial Information
10 Most Frequently Asked Questions
These Frequently Asked Questions have been assembled to provide
the reader of Dover District Council’s Accounts with further
explanation and guidance.
1. Why are the accounts produced?
The main purpose of a local authority’s accounts is to provide
electors, residents, those who use the Council’s services,
Councillors, employees and other interested parties with
information about the authority’s finances. They should provide
information on issues such as:
- What did services cost in the year of the accounts?
- Where did the money come from?
- What were the authority’s assets and liabilities at the year
end?
2. The accounts appear to be very complex. Can’t they be
simplified?
Every effort is made to use plain language, and the explanatory
forward to the accounts is intended to give the reader a simple
explanation of the more significant features of the accounts.
However, the accounts have to comply with local government
legislation and regulations, general accounting practice and the
“Statement of Recommended Practice” which ensures consistency
between local authorities.
Compliance with all these requirements can make the accounts
complex. Therefore the Council also produces:
- An “Outturn Report” – this is produced at the same time as the
accounts and provides an easy to read narrative of the more
significant issues.
- Summarised Accounts – these provide a simple, short summary of
the accounts. They are included in the Council’s Annual Report and
also the Council’s web site.
3. Why is there a separate “Housing Revenue Account”
All local authorities that manage their own housing have to set
up a Housing Revenue Account (or “HRA”).
The HRA is a “ringfenced” account. The purpose is to ensure that
the income from housing rents, and the expenditure required to
maintain the housing, and the subsidy that the Council has to pay
the government from the housing rents, are all kept completely
separate from the income and expenditure on other services that are
financed from the Council Tax and Revenue Support Grant from
government.
4. What is the connection between the accounts and the
budget?
Although they may appear to be completely separate, the accounts
and the budget complement each other and are both parts of a
continuous process of financial management and control.
These links are demonstrated by the fact that the accounts
include a brief comparison with performance against the budget, and
they are also taken into account when the Council begins to prepare
the next budget.
5. Who prepares the accounts?
The accounts are prepared by the Council’s own staff working in
the Finance and ICT Division.
6. When are the accounts prepared?
Accounts are produced annually. The financial year (for all
local authorities) runs from April to March. The draft accounts are
then published by the end of June, and the final, audited accounts
are published by the end of September.
7. What checks are made to ensure the accounts are
correct?
The draft accounts presented to Governance Committee at the end
of June are prepared by trained, qualified staff. However, at this
point they will not have been subject to independent checks to
assure the reader of their accuracy.
The checks and challenges to the draft accounts are:
- Governance Committee – The Governance Committee comprises
Councillors who are not members of the Cabinet. The Governance
Committee’s role includes approval of the accounts. It acts
independently to assure itself that the accounts have been produced
on a proper basis.
- Audit Commission – The Audit Commission appoint independent
qualified auditors to audit the accounts. They review the accounts
themselves and also the Council’s procedures and systems for
producing the accounts and controlling its finances. If they are
satisfied they issue an “unqualified opinion” of the accounts.
In addition, the Council’s Internal Audit team operate
throughout the year, checking and testing the systems and processes
upon which the Council relies in order to produce the accounts. The
Internal Audit team are Council employees, but their task is to act
independently of the rest of the Council and their work provides
part of the assurance required by the Governance Committee.
8. How do I know if the audit of the accounts found any
problems?
In September the Governance Committee receive:
- The final accounts, including the auditors certificate and an
explanation of any changes made since the draft accounts were
published in June.
- An “Annual Governance Report” from the auditors setting out any
matters of concern.
An advert is also placed in local newspapers advising the public
of the conclusion of the audit.
9. Do I have the opportunity to look at the accounts?
Yes. Every year an advert is placed in local papers notifying
people of the period during which they can inspect the accounts.
This year the period is from 8th July 2010 to 4th August 2010.
10. What happens if I think there is something wrong with the
accounts?
Members of the public can object to the accounts. This is
explained in more detail in a booklet published in July 2006 by the
Audit Commission called “Councils’
Accounts: Your rights: England, pdf, 226kb”.
Were these notes helpful?
If you have any comments on the accounts, the summary of
accounts, these FAQs, or some questions of your own please write
to:
Helen Lamb,
Finance and ICT Division,
Dover District Council,
White Cliffs Business Park,
Dover,
Kent, CT16 3PJ
Email Helen.lamb@dover.gov.uk
