Financial Control
Responsible Financial Officer (RFO)
All Parish Councils are required to appoint an RFO. It is permissible for the Parish Clerk to carry out the RFO role but Chearsley Parish Council has opted to appoint a separate RFO who is a Chartered Accountant.
Financial Procedures
Financial Procedures are in place, reviewed annually along with all other Council Policies.
Financial Reporting
Regular financial reporting includes:
- a summary report of income and expenditure for the preceding month provided by the RFO at each Council meeting
- a more detailed analysis of income and expenditure provided quarterly
- production of annual accounts: these are also part of the audit process
Bank Account
The Council uses on-line banking for most of its transactions, operated only by the RFO. A second Councillor is provided with read-only access to the account to enable a second-person check on the reported figures. The Chairman also holds the account access details in case of the RFO becoming unavailable but is specifically not allowed to access the account in normal circumstances.
To maintain segregation of duties the RFO has no responsibility for purchasing.
Annual Accounts
Detailed accounts are produced and published to provide full details of Council income, expenditure and reserves.
The Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR)
The AGAR is the principal means by which the Council is held accountable to its electorate for the way in which public funds in its care have been administered. It is part of a mandatory process that involves the annual production and publication of a set of documents, copies of which available below. The AGAR comprises four parts:
Section 1. The Annual Governance Statement
This comprises a further list of statements confirming that the Council considers that key financial controls have been maintained. It is signed by the Council Chairman and Clerk after approval by the Council and confirms that:
Section 2. The Accounting Statement
The Accounting Statement is a high-level summary of the Annual Accounts in a proscribed format. It is signed by the Council Chairman and Responsible Financial Officer after approval by the Council.
Section 3. External Auditor Report and Certificate
Following satisfactory completion of an Internal Audit, the AGAR is submitted for review to an External Auditor, appointed by the Auditor General. The External Auditor can request further clarification as required, and once satisfied will issue an Audit Report and Certificate.
Internal Audit Report
The Council is required to appoint an Internal Auditor who reviews the Annual Governance Statement and Accounting Statements prior to them being submitted for External Audit. The Internal Auditor provides a written report confirming, or otherwise, their opinion on the extent to which the individual statements in the Annual Governance Statement have been met by the Council, along with any other appropriate advice and guidance. Copies of the Internal Audit Report are included with the Audit documents below.
Notices
Public Scrutiny
Following completion of the Internal Audit, but prior to submission for External Audit, Sections 1 and 2 of the AGAR are made available for public examination for a period of 6 weeks.
A formal Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance and Accountability Return is published according to a proscribed timetable to indicate that the AGAR is available for examination.
Notice of Conclusion of Audit
A Notice of Completion of Audit is published on completion of the Audit process.
Audit Documents for the last five years
Copies of all the Audit Documents, i.e. the Annual Accounts, the AGAR Documents and the formal Notices, for the last 5 years are available here