Annual Governance and Accountability Returns and Audit Reports (unaudited and audited)

The council does every year have a legal duty to submit an Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) Statement to the appointed external auditors who are:

BDO LLP

Arcadia House

Maritime Walk

Ocean Village

Southampton

SO14 3TL

The AGAR is broken down into a few sections which are: –

6. a) Page 3 of 6.

Internal Auditor.

Prior to the completion and submission of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return, Marazion Town Council’s appointed internal auditor conducts an independent objective assurance review in accordance with what is required under the Joint Panel for Governance and Accountability 2021 for Smaller Authorities.

The internal auditor upon conclusion of their end of year audit completes this section which confirms that the internal auditor is satisfied or not that Marazion Town Council has met the necessary statutory requirements in accordance with the Governance and Accountability Return.

Where there is a ‘no’ then actions being taken to address any weakness are to be identified and an explanation given to the appointed external auditors.

For 2022-2023 the town councils appointed internal auditor has confirmed that Marazion Town Council has met the necessary statutory requirements in accordance with the Governance and Accountability Return.

The internal auditor in his report has made mention that other than inconsistency in the application of VAT (garage income due to miscoding which can be rectified in this financial year), there are no areas of concern.  This does not affect the Governance and Accountability Return

1. b) Page 4 of 6

Marazion Town Council.

Marazion Town Councils own statement about the implementation of a sound system of internal control.  Each box has been ticked ‘yes’.

1. c) Page 5 of 6

Accounting Statement. 

There are a total of 11 boxes to complete and as per the accounting statement the figures are quite self-explanatory.

Within the figures there is a degree of variance given.  If the variance exceeds what is allowed, then an explanation must be given.  There are variances for boxes 4 and 6.

 d) Page 6 of 6

External Auditor.

Once the audit has been completed and the External Auditor has undertaken a limited assurance review then any recommendations will be noted, and a certificate of completion issued.  The issuing of a completion certificate usually takes two to three months.  Once issued a report will be brought before the council for noting and approving any recommendations to be made.

2        Explanation of Variances.

Authorities need to understand the changes in income and expenditure from year to year and their significance. The RFO needs to produce an explanation of significant variances in annual levels of income expenditure and balances as recorded on the Annual Governance and Accountability Return that provides a sufficiently detailed and meaningful analysis and explanation of the reasons for the change.

3        Exercising of Public Rights.

Once the council has approved and signed the Annual Governance and Accountability Return for 2023-2024 then a public notice announcing the period of Exercising of Public Rights commences .  T

The notice of the Exercising of Public Rights must be placed in the notice board and posted on the town councils’ website. This period gives members of the public a right to ask to review the accounts.