Accounts are created annually to provide electors, residents, service users, councillors, employees and other interested parties with information about our finances. They 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?
Every effort is made to use plain language but they can be complex. This is because accounts have to comply with local government legislation and regulations which ensures consistency between local authorities.
Annual accounts and budgets
- Statement of Accounts 2024-25 (opens in new tab)
- Audit Completion Certificate 2024/25 (opens in new tab)
- Medium Term Financial Plan 2024/25 to 2027/28 (opens in new tab)
- Productivity Plan 2024 (opens in new tab)
- Annual Governance Statement 2024-25 (opens in new tab)
- Public Inspection Notice 2024-25 (opens in new tab)
- Notice of Conclusion of Audit 2021-2023 (opens in new tab)
- Statement of Accounts 2022/23 (opens in new tab)
- Public Inspection Notice 2022/23 (opens in new tab)
- Medium Term Financial Plan 2022/23 to 2025/26 (opens in new tab)
- Medium Term Financial Plan Appendices 2022/23 to 2025/26 (opens in new tab)
- Annual Governance Assurance Statement 2022/23 (opens in new tab)
Further information
Although they may appear to be completely separate, the accounts and the budget complement each other and are both part of a continuous process of financial management and control.
These links are demonstrated by the fact the accounts include a brief comparison with performance against the budget, and they are also taken into account when we begin to prepare the next budget.
All local authorities that manage their own housing have to set up a Housing Revenue Account (HRA).
The HRA is a 'ringfenced' account. This is to ensure the income from housing rents, and the expenditure required to maintain the housing and the subsidy that we have 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.
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 May and the final, audited accounts are published on completion of the audit process.
The draft accounts presented to the Governance Committee at the end of June are prepared by our trained, qualified staff. However, at this point they will not have undergone independent checks to ensure accuracy.
The checks and challenges to the draft accounts are:
- Governance Committee - the Governance Committee is made up of councillors who are not members of the Cabinet. Its role includes approval of the accounts. It acts independently to assure itself that the accounts have been produced on a proper basis.
- External Audit - External Audit (currently Grant Thornton UK LLP) appoints independent qualified auditors to audit the accounts. They review the accounts themselves and also our procedures and systems for producing the accounts and controlling our finances. If they are satisfied, they issue an 'unqualified opinion' of the accounts.
In addition, our Internal Audit team operates throughout the year, checking and testing the systems and processes we use to produce the accounts. The Internal Audit team consists of 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.
Completion of external audit
On completion of the External Audit process, the Governance Committee receives:
- the final accounts, including the auditor's certificate and an explanation of any changes made since the draft accounts were published in June
- an Audit Findings Report from the auditors setting out any matters of concern.
A notice is placed on the website advising the public of the conclusion of the audit.
Members of the public can object to the accounts.
This is explained in more detail in a booklet published by the national Audit Office, which you can find below.
Contact us
If you have any comments on the accounts, the summary of accounts or further questions please email finance@dover.go.uk (opens in new tab)
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